Often affiliated with left-wing causes, Barnes was accused in the 1950s of being a member of the
Communist Party USA by several witnesses. For example,
Whittaker Chambers reported on in August 1951: Chambers stated that Barnes had attended meetings regularly at a Communist group headed by
Frederick Vanderbilt Field and held at the Central Park West home of Field's mother; Barnes dismissed the allegations by explaining that he had married Field's former wife.{{cite news == Personal life and death ==