In 1954, during the McCarthy Era, the Department of Justice sought to fire Zarky from his position with the Department, based primarily on his wife's brief flirtation with Communism when she was an undergraduate in the mid-1930s, along with such "crimes" as their belonging to a particular book club and knowing certain "suspect" individuals. After they filed numerous declarations from friends and prominent individuals regarding their loyalty to the United States, he was reinstated to his position.
