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{ 53 } c h a p t e r 5 The Attorney General’s Abrupt Decision You are directed to arrest, and deliver forthwith to the Sugamo Prison Ikuko (Iva) Toguri D’Aquino, age  years, residing at  Ikejiri-machi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Upon complaint and sufficient information made to me by the Department of Justice . . . the person described . . . is suspected of having committed treasonable conduct against the United States Government during World War II. Warrant of arrest, issued on August , , by W. A. Beiderlinden, Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-, to the Provost Marshal, General Headquarters, Far East Command When she was discharged from Sugamo, Iva returned to her former residence at Ikejiri, Setagaya, Tokyo, to live with her husband and became pregnant in the spring of 1947. She received prenatal care from Dr. Amano ’s wife (a physician) and was treated until her ninth month of pregnancy. Iva decided not to return to the United States immediately but to enjoy her now relatively calm life and wait until things quieted down, hoping that by then she could return with her husband to the United States without attracting anyone’s attention. One year after her release, she renewed her effort to return home. The main reason was that she wanted her child to be born in the United States. On October 20, 1947, when the Passport Division of the State Department asked the Justice Department about the status of Iva, T. Vincent Quinn, assistant attorney general, wrote back and said that “this Department will have no objection to the issue of a passport for Mrs. d’Aquino,” because “after a careful analysis of the available evidence, the Department concluded that prosecution of this individual was not warranted.” The approval of the Justice Department to issue an American passport to Iva, however, triggered a renewed hostility toward her. The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution opposing her return to the city. The American Legion, the Native Sons of the Golden West, and West Coast nativist groups all severely criticized the intention of the State Department to issue a passport and demanded the prosecution of Iva for treason. 54 { Chapter 5 } The Justice Department, however, instead of convincingly pointing out the insufficiency of evidence and the flimsiness of the charges, tried to respond to public opinion but did so in a haphazard and ineffective manner . Finally on December 3, sensitive to the growing pressure, the department issued a press release, admitting difficulty in securing two witnesses to support a charge of treason. If and when such evidence be obtained, the department promised, the case would be presented to a grand jury. On the same day, the New York Times published an article entitled “seek treason witnesses.” It was more than one year after Iva had been discharged from Sugamo as the result of the Justice Department’s order that identification of Toguri as “Tokyo Rose” was deemed erroneous. It reads: Washington, Dec. 3—Anyone who ever saw Iva Ikuko d’Aquino broadcasting as “Tokyo Rose” or recognized her voice coming over the air waves, should communicate with the FBI, that agency stated today. . . . Investigation for two years with a view of obtaining . . . two witnesses necessary to prosecute her for treason, had thus far been unsuccessful. Nevertheless, said the FBI, the inquiry was proceeding and, if possible , the case would be presented to a grand jury. Meanwhile, Mrs. d’Aquino “is not being permitted” to return to the U.S. This announcement, significantly, rejected two important decisions the Justice Department had made earlier: Iva Toguri was not “Tokyo Rose” and Toguri should be allowed to return to the United States. The Justice Department was also concerned about Walter Winchell, who had been hosting a very popular radio news show every Sunday evening . In a rich display of journalistic demagoguery, he accused Attorney General Tom Clark and the Truman administration of being “soft on traitors .” The Republicans would benefit tremendously in the coming 1948 presidential election, he argued, if something were not done immediately to bring about treason trials of Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally. Winchell was, indeed, angry because the Truman administration was about to clear the way for Iva’s return home. In order to appease the wrath of Winchell, on December 4 Tom Clark sent District Attorney James M. Carter to meet Winchell in Los Angeles. Reporting back to Clark, Carter stated that he had explained to Winchell the department’s position on Iva thoroughly and...

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