[citation needed] In the early days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, he worked for the Railroad Retirement Board in Washington, D.C., as director of research.
From there he found employment in the Federal Coordinator of Transport, the United States Tariff Commission and the Labor Advisory Board of the National Recovery Administration.
Silverman knew Greg Silvermaster to be a conduit for Communist Party USA General secretary, Earl Browder.
Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury Harry Dexter White used Silverman to supply documents to Soviet intelligence in the latter part of 1942 and early 1943.
Silverman and Silvermaster learned much about U.S. policies and about Lauchlin Currie and Harry Dexter White's own views through their association.