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Lee Pressman (fl. 1930s-'40s) was a Jewish American attorney and activist. He worked for Federal government agencies and labor unions, and is known for admitting his role in the Ware group of Communist-led government employees aiding Soviet intelligence agents.

Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace appointed Pressman assistant general counsel of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) in 1933. In 1934 he became active in the Ware group.

In 1935, he left the AAA post and was appointed general counsel in the Works Progress Administration by Harry L. Hopkins. Later that year Rexford G. Tugwell appointed him general counsel of the Resettlement Administration. During the same year, he reduced is role in Ware group work to what he later described as that of an ideological ally.

Pressman left government service in June 1936 and became general counsel for the Congress of Industrial Organizations and for the Steel Workers' Organizing Committee. In March 1937 he became general counsel for the Textile Workers' Organizing Committee.

In 1950 Pressman admitted to his Ware group activities.

References

• John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America, Yale University Press

• Venona Appendix A
• Jewish Americans
• Jewish liberals