The Pumpkin Papers

The historic Pumpkin Papers, which were uncovered during the McCarthy era, were key evidence during the Hiss trials of 1948. There were 65 papers total, all retyped secret State Department documents. Four additional pages were written by Hiss, and there were rolls of both developed and undeveloped film, which were more pictures of State and Navy Department documents. Now, not all of the Papers were found in a pumpkin, actually, the 65 typed and 4 handwritten papers were stashed in a dumbwaiter inside the home of Whittaker Chamber's nephew's mother. Ironically, the rolls of film were the only things found in the pumpkin on Whittaker Chamber's farm in Maryland, not the papers.
The existence of the aforesaid "Pumpkin Papers" came into light during the Hiss trials in 1948, when, in response to a subpoena, Whittaker Chambers led two HUAC agents to the rather bizarre hiding place. It was believed that Priscilla, Hiss's wife, typed the papers, and that Chambers collected data for the USSR every 7-10 days. To get some backstory, the case against Alger Hiss began when ex-communists, TIMES editor, Whittaker Chambers testified to HUAC that Hiss was a communist between the '30s and the '40s. Not just this, but Chambers stated that Hiss gave him secret copies of papers throughout Hiss's employment in the Department of State. However, Hiss, when called to trial, denied even knowing Chambers, later revealing he did know of him under a different name. He vehemently denied being a communist, and charges and countercharges were soon commonplace during the trials. The trials were extremely controversial, with even President Truman stating that the HUAC was using false and misleading evidence to defame Hiss, whilst critics argued that Truman himself was coddling communism in America.
With the testimony of Chambers, the Hiss trials began. However, the statute of limitations had run out, meaning that Hiss could not be tried for treason. Instead, Hiss was charged with two counts of perjury- the first being lying about copying state documents, and the second being his denial of knowing Chambers. Even after the end of the trials, Hiss was still an enigma. Many believed he was an innocent caught up in anti communist hysteria, others thought he was in fact a soviet spy with communist beliefs.