A federal judge has ordered key secret grand jury testimony released in the atomic spy trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled Tuesday regarding the testimony of several witnesses whose sealed testimony was taken in 1950 and 1951.

He cited the needs of historians.

Federal prosecutors had already agreed to release the records of 35 of the 45 witnesses. Hellerstein's rulings mean testimony from all but three witnesses can be public.