John Bernard

John Toussaint Bernard (March 6, 1893 August 6, 1983) was a United States representative from Minnesota.

Background

Bernard was born in 1893 in Bastia, Corsica, France. In 1907, he immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in Eveleth, Minnesota. He went to public schools in both France and in the U.S.

He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1938 to the Seventy-Sixth Congress and again unsuccessfully for election in 1940 to the Seventy-Seventh Congress.

Personal life and death

Bernard met Josephine Dinois while working for the Office of Naval Intelligence in France. They married in 1928

Bernard moved to Long Beach, Calif., where he lived until his death there on August 6, 1983.

Minnesota Congressman John T. Bernard fought throughout his life for working people against strong opposition. His outspoken and uncompromising views led him, on his second day in office, to cast the single "no" vote in Congress against the Spanish arms embargo. Bernard's vote proved farsighted as the Spanish Civil War became, in many ways, a "dress rehearsal" for World War II.

Less known years later were his strong support for the Communist-backed Popular Front:

Bernard won election in the Farmer-Labor landslide of 1936 ... and quickly became the most enthusiastic and outspoken advocate of the Popular Front in Congress. Not even other Congressmen who sympathized with the Popular Front underlined their links to the Communist Party by inserting, as Bernard did, articles from the Communist Party's Daily Worker into the Congressional Record.

While in office (1937–1939), Bernard's personal secretary in Washington was Marion Bachrach, sister of John Abt, chief counsel of the Communist Party. Former Soviet GRU operative Whittaker Chambers named both Bacharach and Abt among others as members of the Ware Group (his first spy network) during his testimony under subpoena to HUAC on August 3, 1948. That testimony led to the Hiss Case during 1949 and Hiss' conviction in January 1950. Bernard also employed Herman Griffith on his congressional staff. Griffith was a leading Popular Front activist and self-announced CPUSA member.

In 1952, Bernard testified under subpoena before HUAC. For most questions, he asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege. He also asserted his loyalty to America and willingness to defend it.

In 1977, Bernard accepted membership in the Communist Party USA.