Editor's note: The beginning of the end of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's hunt for Communists in government came on June 9, 1954, in the Army-McCarthy hearings in Congress. The senator and the Army had come into conflict over the service of G. David Schine, a lawyer on McCarthy's staff who had been drafted. McCarthy and another of his attorneys, Roy Cohn, attempted to have Schine released from Army service so he could return to Washington. The contest of wills eventually became so intense that it resulted in 36 days of congressional hearings broadcast live on national television. The Army was represented at the hearings by Joseph Welch, an attorney from the Boston firm of Hale and Dorr. As Welch was cross-examining Cohn, McCarthy tried to impugn the integrity of Fred Fisher, a young attorney for Hale and Dorr who was not working on the Army case. Welch's objection to the tactic became famous:Welch: Sen. McCarthy, I think until this moment --
McCarthy: Just a minute. Let me ask, Jim -- will you get the news story to the effect that this man belongs to this Communist front organization.
Welch: I will tell you that he belonged to it.
McCarthy: Will you get the citations -- order the citations showing that this was the legal arm of the Communist Party and the length of time that he belonged and the fact that he was recommended by Mr. Welch? I think that should be in the record.
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