three years—for more than three years—a good friend of ours and a counsellor?
MILLS: That’s correct. I was professionally, but not intimately.
REICH: There was some private contact?
MILLS: Yes, a cup of coffee.
THE COURT: With cream and sugar in it?
REICH: That’s right!^2And a few minutes later, during the same examination:REICH: My question is, under the circumstances, what reasons, or what
facts induced Mr. Mills after being our counsel for three years, and I regarded him
as a good friend, to be our opponent’s counsel, and the one to prosecute me and Dr.
Silvert as criminals?
THE COURT: That is a fair question if there is anything.
MR. MILLS: The question is, what prompted me?
REICH: What made you change your mind?
MR. MILLS: I have never changed my mind. I am not conscious of chang-
ing my mind.
THE COURT: Wait a minute. The original question was, what prompted
you to change sides.
MR. MILLS: I never changed sides ... I never advised you on matters con-
cerning the Pure Food and Drug Administration^3.Later that day, Reich produced minutes of a meeting of the Wilhelm Reich
Foundation held in 1952 which Mills attended and at which the FDA investigation was dis-
cussed.Maguire tried to make the case that once Mills was district attorney and the Reich mat-
ter was referred to him by the Department of Justice, he had no choice but to direct the legal
action.The judge curtly commented: “We all know he may have assigned it to someone else
ifhe did not care to sit on it.”^4
Undoubtedly, Mills’s role could have been exploited by Reich far more than it was,
not only in the trial but in subsequent appeals. It was the one action on the government’s side
that clearly angered Judge Sweeney. But Reich remained adamant: it was a “technicality.”
During a recess on May 5, Ilse Ollendorff asked to speak with the judge^5. She was
much incensed that Maguire had denied seeing the Conspiracyvolume.While she had been
waiting in Portland for the trial to begin, Mills and Maguire had asked her if she would initial
some Foundation documents in order to speed up proceedings. She agreed, and in the course
ofcarrying out this request, noticed with surprise that Maguire had a copy of the Conspiracy
volume.
The judge then advised Ms. Ollendorff to tell Reich about the incident with Maguire,
and to have Reich examine her again. Reich did so, and Maguire cross-examined her. Once
more Maguire tried to make the point that since the material was contained in a looseleaf
30 : The Trial: 1956 417