The Faithful Traitor.

The article focuses on the late Alger Hiss, convicted of being a Soviet spy. Hiss always insisted on his absolute innocence. And in refusing to acknowledge wrongdoing, he secured a latent support for himself. In fact, Hiss probably felt he had no alternative but to deny accusations imposed on him. After jail Alger Hiss stopped pretending not to know any Communists. Nathan Wit and John Abt were finally acknowledged as genuine friends, not just nodding acquaintances. An acknowledgment of "tactical" dishonesty would have been counter-productive.