One of the co-defendants in the Rosenberg espionage case has admitted to spying for the Soviets.
Morton Sobell, who was tried and convicted in 1951 with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg on espionage charges, admitted for the first time Thursday in an interview with The New York Times that he had tunred over military secrets to the Soviets during World War II.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, call it that,” he told the Times when asked if he was a spy. “I never thought of it as that in those terms.”
Sobell drew a distinction between providing information on defensive radar and artillery, which he did, and the information that, he said, Julius Rosenberg provided to the Soviets on the atomic bomb. He said he believes the Soviets already had obtained from other sources most of the information Rosenberg provided.
Sobell also said he believed that Ethel Rosenberg was aware of her husband’s spying, but did not actively participate. Both Rosenbergs were executed for their crimes.
The 91-year-old Sobell, who long had professed his innocence, refused to testify at his trial and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was released in 1969 and currently lives in the Bronx, N.Y.
He spoke as the National Archives released the bulk of the grand jury testimony in the Rosenberg case.
