The Biden administration has overturned a 1954 decision that revoked the security clearance of J Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist credited as a key architect of the atomic bomb who was caught up in the Red Scare over communism in US politics.
The US energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, wrote in a statement published on Friday that the original decision by the Atomic Energy Commission on Oppenheimer’s security clearance had been part of a “flawed process that violated the Commission’s own regulations”.
“As time has passed, more evidence has come to light of the bias and unfairness of the process that Dr Oppenheimer was subjected to while the evidence of his loyalty and love of country have only been further affirmed,” said Granholm.
Oppenheimer led the development of the atomic bomb through his work at the Manhattan Project’s Los Alamos National Laboratory.
In April and May of 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission held 19 secret meetings, where they ultimately decided to revoke Oppenheimer’s clearance.
Deciding members alleged that Oppenheimer was a security risk and held pro-Soviet loyalties.
The decision barred Oppenheimer from access to codes needed for his work, essentially ending his career. He died in 1967 at age 62.
For decades, scientists and historians have condemned the decision to revoke Oppenheimer’s clearance. They celebrated the reversal.
“I’m overwhelmed with emotion,” Kai Bird, co-author of the Pulitzer-prize winning 2005 Oppenheimer biography American Prometheus, told the New York Times .“History matters and what was done to Oppenheimer in 1954 was a travesty, a black mark on the honor of the nation.”
A biopic about Oppenheimer directed by Christopher Nolan is scheduled for next summer.
