In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused Keeney of being a member of the Communist Party, rather than an agent serving a foreign government.
In November 1952, she was ordered to stand trial by U.S. district judge Edward M. Curran for contempt of Congress.
She had previously believed an oath taken by United Nations employees prevented her from testifying about her activities with the agency.
[1] On March 20, 1953, she was convicted by a jury, with a $250 fine and received a suspended one-year sentence for contempt of Congress.
[3] The Keeneys then opened a theatre in Greenwich Village called Club Cinema, mostly to show foreign-language films, with occasional live performances.