# Morgenthau Diaries, Volume 420: telephone calls of July 11, 1941 ("We're going to try Nucky Johnson on Monday")

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/items/nara-28276740-morgenthau-diaries-vol-420-1941-07-11/

Francis Biddle tells Secretary Morgenthau by telephone that "We're going to try Nucky Johnson on Monday," reports "new evidence of tampering," and asks for Internal Revenue intelligence agents to examine the jury panel.

The stored image is diary page 114 (page 122 of the NARA PDF), the transcript of a call at 11:58 a.m. on July 11, 1941. The caller is labelled "Francis Biddle." He says: "We're going to try Nucky Johnson on Monday." Morgenthau answers "Wonderful." Biddle: "Your intelligence prepared the case." Then: "There's new evidence of tampering. We're going to look the jury up," and "We would like very much if you could let us have some men to examine the panel of 50." Asked what kind of men, he says "Your intelligence people," which Morgenthau takes as "Internal Revenue intelligence." On the following page Biddle names Sam Clark, "head of the Tax Division," as the contact.

In a second call at 12:01 p.m., Morgenthau tells Foley: "Solicitor General just called up. He wants some help from Internal Revenue intelligence to examine the panel on the Nucky Johnson case on Monday," and tells him to see that it is done.

The transcripts record a request about jury vetting and an official's statement that there was new evidence of tampering. They do not say who tampered or with what, and they do not record a verdict. No opened source gives the verdict date or the sentence; the appeal from the conviction is [129 F.2d 954](/items/courtlistener-us-v-johnson-129-f2d-954/).

## Sources

- National Archives Catalog, Henry Morgenthau, Jr. Papers, Diaries of Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (National Archives): https://catalog.archives.gov/medialive/40/2767/28276740/content/presidential-libraries/roosevelt/FDR-MORGEN/589213/md0566.pdf