Oppenheimer took the occasion to explain to Einstein that he was going to be absent from the Institute for some weeks. He was being forced to defend himself in Washington, D.C., during a secret hearing against charges that he was a security risk, and perhaps even disloyal. “He loved America,” said Verna Hobson, his secretary who was a witness to the conversation, “and this love was as deep as his love of science.”“Einstein doesn’t understand,” Oppenheimer told Ms. Hobson. But as Einstein walked back into his office he told his assistant, nodding in the direction of Oppenheimer, “There goes a narr [fool].”Einstein was right. Oppenheimer was foolishly subjecting himself to a kangaroo court in which he was soon stripped of his security clearance and publicly humiliated.

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Persons: J, Robert Oppenheimer, Albert Einstein, Oppenheimer, Einstein, Oppenheimer “, ” Oppenheimer demurred, “, ”, Verna Hobson, ” Oppenheimer, Hobson, ” Einstein, Oppenheimer’s Organizations: Institute for, Study, Institute, Washington , D.C, Atomic Energy Locations: Princeton, N.J, Germany, Washington ,, America