COPLON, JUDITH (1922– ). Born into a middle-class Jewish family
in New York and educated at Barnard College, Judith Coplon joined
the U.S. Justice Department as a clerk in 1943. Her background in-
vestigation disclosed that she had been a member of several pro-
communist groups while a student, but this fact was ignored. Coplon,
who had access to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) information
about Soviet intelligence activities, was recruited by a Soviet intelli-
gence officer under journalist cover. In a cable to Moscow, Vladimir
Pravdinwrote that she was “a serious person who is politically well-
developed.” She was rapidly promoted at Justice and was equally ap-
preciated by the NKVDrezidentura, which assigned an experienced
case officer, Valentin Gubitchev, to work with her. Coplon was iden-
tified through Venonaintercepts and became the object of an intense
FBI investigation. She was arrested in 1949 with Gubitchev, who was
under cover as a United Nations employee and was permitted to re-
turn to Moscow.
The trial of Coplon was one of the first espionage scandals of the
Cold War. Filled with dramatic evidence of espionage and Coplon’s
love life, it ended with her conviction and a 10-year sentence. The
sentence was overturned on appeal, as was her second espionage con-
viction. Coplon never served a day in prison, though evidence of her
espionage activities was devastating. The case demonstrated the
problem that American authorities had in proving espionage in open
courts, and it raised doubts about the FBI’s handling of spy cases.COT, PIERRE (1895–1977). Cot, who served in six French cabinets as
minister of aviation, was first recruited by the NKVDin the 1930s.
The relationship was renewed in 1943 in Washington, where Cot re-
portedly approached American Communist Party boss Earl Browder
and was put in contact with Soviet intelligence officers. An inter-
cepted message indicated that Browder contacted NKVD foreign in-
telligence chief Pavel Fitinabout the approach. NKVD rezident
Vasily Zarubinpersonally ran Cot, a member of Charles de Gaulle’s
Free French administration. Cot, codenamed “Daedalus,” provided
Moscow with details about the Gaullist movement. He also collabo-
rated with agents of the French Communist Party and the Com-
intern. One cable to Moscow read: “Daedalus will obey unquestion-
ably.” In 1944 Cot was sent to Moscow as de Gaulle’s personal56 •COPLON, JUDITH (1922– )06-313 A-G.qxd 7/27/06 7:55 AM Page 56