Challe.... President Kennedy, of course knew nothing of all this". Subsequently President John F. Kennedy, through his White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger's meeting with French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville, reassured de Gaulle that the this plot was not backed by the CIA or any other U.S. government entity. The next day M. de Murville appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies to testify that there was no evidence of U.S. complicity. U.S. President John F. Kennedy himself contacted de Gaulle to pledge his support, including military assistance, if needed. President de Gaulle declined Kennedy's offer, fearing any controversy if American troops shot any French counterparts. Il Paese Sera was financed directly by the Communist Party of Italy who had unofficial editorial control. Its editor, Mario Malloni, was a member of the Soviet-backed World Peace Council. IPS, it has been said, "consistently released and reported anti-American and pro-Soviet bloc stories which are either distorted or entirely false." During a June 1961 hearing before a subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary in the United States Senate, Richard Helms testified that the article published by il Paese was likely part of a Soviet propaganda campaign designed to divide the U.S. and French governments. There were other claims of foreign support: French journalist Patrick Pesnot contended that the French generals also had the support of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (West German Federal Intelligence Service) leader and Dulles protégé Reinhard Gehlen. However, Gen. Challe himself always contended that he had never been in contact with any foreign countries in this affair. See also Foreign Airborne Battalions and Regiments of France Coup d'état May 1958 crisis Notes and references Bibliography Pierre Abramovici, Le Putsch des Généraux, éd. Fayard, 2011 Jacques Fauvet and Jean Planchais, La Fronde des Généraux, Arthaud, Paris, 1961 Porch, Douglas. The French Foreign Legion. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. Roberts, Adam, ‘Civil Resistance to Military Coups’, Journal of Peace Research, Oslo, vol. 12, no. 1, 1975, pp. 19–36. Roberts, Adam, ‘La défaite du putsch de 1961: un exemple de résistance civile’, Espoir, Institut Charles de Gaulle, Paris, no. 15, June 1976, pp. 47–54. External links La réhabilitation des généraux putschistes, en 1982, Human Rights League Article in Le Monde, 2001 Article by Pierre Abramovici 1960s coups d'état and coup attempts 1961 in Algeria 1961 in France Algerian War Attempted coups d'état in France Conflicts in 1961 French