David A. Salmon

[2] In May 2009, American historians John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr and Russian journalist Alexander Vassiliev published a book entitled Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America.

In this thick tome, the three identified David A. Salmon as a key State Department source of classified documents code-named "Willy" by his Soviet handlers.

"[3] After enhancing the information which he received with his own interpretive content, Lore then pocketed the handsome monthly stipend which was purportedly destined for the top-ranking official Salmon, Chervonnaya explains.

Kobiakov, former high official (Major General) of the KGB foreign intelligence, which was based on Ludwig Lore case file: "Throughout the whole period of surveillance, he left his home only once, for four hours.

"[5] In an article published a few days earlier David Garrow, a historian of the civil rights movement, accepted as fact that Salmon "handed over reams of classified information simply for the money.

"[6] According to Chervonnaya, on the other hand, conclusive proof of David Salmon's misidentification as the source known variously as "Willie" and "11th" appears in the published archival notes made by former KGB officer and historian Alexander Vassiliev.

[8] Following the publication of Haynes, Klehr, and Vassiliev's book in May 2009, some in the mainstream media made Salmon's name a watchword for those who "handed over reams of classified information simply for the money.