On December 21, 1953, Strauss told Oppenheimer that his security clearance had been suspended, pending resolution of a series of charges outlined in a letter, and discussed his resigning by way of requesting termination of his consulting contract with the AEC. Oppenheimer chose not to resign and requested a hearing instead. The charges were outlined in a letter from Kenneth D. Nichols, general manager of the AEC. Nichols, who had thought highly of Oppenheimer's work on the earlier Long-Range Objectives Panel, said that "in spite of [Oppenheimer's] record he is loyal to the United States." He nonetheless drafted the letter, but later wrote that he was "not happy with the inclusion of a reference concerning Oppenheimer's opposition to the hydrogen bomb development."