Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

With the publisher’s approval, the presses began rolling with stories about the Pentagon Papers for the next day’s paper. Goodale called The New York Times’s law firm with an update, but the firm announced that they would no longer represent the paper. Goodale began searching for another law firm. The next morning, the Times received an order to appear in court later that day. The government’s lawyers argued that the classified documents damaged national security, and the Times’s lawyers countered that they had the right to publish under the First Amendment. It was “the first time in American history the government had tried to silence a newspaper” (228). When the Times refused to stop publishing voluntarily to give the judge time to study the case, the judge issued a temporary restraining order.

Meanwhile, suspicion was circulating around Ellsberg, but he wasn’t yet ready to reveal himself as the source of the leak. He was determined to first reveal the whole study described in the Pentagon Papers. He realized the government might force the Times to stop printing, so he looked for a backup. Through a cryptic message, he contacted Ben Bagdikian, an editor at The Washington Post. When Bagdikian confirmed that the Post would print the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg told him to fly to Boston and bring a large suitcase. Following Ellsberg’s instructions, Bagdikian checked into a hotel under a fake name, where he, Ellsberg, and Patricia spent the night sorting through the documents. The next morning, Bagdikian flew back to Washington with the papers in the seat beside him.

Ellsberg and Patricia stayed in the hotel watching the news. To their surprise, the front porch of their home filled the screen. Two FBI agents were knocking on their door, looking for Daniel Ellsberg. They realized they couldn’t go back home.

The Washington Post set up shop in executive editor Ben Bradlee’s home. While the reporters were “racing to write stories,” the paper’s lawyers argued that the legal ramifications of publication “could cripple the company” (233). Just like the events at The New York Times, the decision went to the publisher, who approved the articles. The first story ran the next morning, and the Post promptly received a request from the government to stop printing, which they declined.

Meanwhile, in the White House, Nixon’s team was convinced that the leak had come from Daniel Ellsberg. Kissinger claimed to know Ellsberg “well,” painting him to Nixon as “an unstable character” (235). The more Nixon listened, the angrier he became. He was determined to catch Ellsberg at any cost.

New York Judge Gurfein ultimately ruled in favor of The New York Times. In his landmark decision, he argued that “[s]ecurity […] lies in the value of [the US’s] free intuitions” (236). He declared that a free press, no matter how “cantankerous” or “obstinate” it might be, is necessary “to preserve […] freedom of expression and the right of the people to know” (236). This was a huge victory, but the Justice Department appealed the ruling, so both the Times and the Post could not continue printing stories about the Pentagon Papers.

Helped by a network of friends, Ellsberg and Patricia evaded the FBI as they worked to distribute more of the Pentagon Papers. The next newspaper to publish stories about the papers was The Boston Globe, and other newspapers around the country continued to follow suit.

Ellsberg’s friends contacted the vice president of CBS News. On June 23, 1971, news broadcaster Walter Cronkite interviewed Ellsberg in a secret location, and Ellsberg publicly admitted his role in exposing the Pentagon Papers. He reminded Americans that the US is “a self-governing country” and told the public they “can’t afford to let the president run the country by himself” (245).

The next day, a dozen newspapers around the country published stories about the Pentagon Papers. The White House’s legal team gave up trying to silence all the newspapers, and the cases against The New York Times and The Washington Post were scheduled to appear before the Supreme Court. Ellsberg was charged with three felonies, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was “the first person in American history to face criminal charges for leaking government secrets to the press” (246). However, Ellsberg wanted to finish distributing the copies of the Pentagon Papers that remained in his possession. He and his lawyer agreed that he would turn himself in the following Monday. When Monday came, he was greeted by a huge crowd at Boston’s courthouse. Ellsberg told the assembled reporters that he felt he had done his duty as a citizen and was prepared to face the consequences. He was hopeful that the American people would use the truth that the Pentagon Papers revealed to hold the government accountable and end the war.

Ellsberg had passed a copy of the documents to antiwar senator Mike Gravel. On June 29, 1971, Gravel called a special session of his subcommittee and began to read the Pentagon Papers aloud while a stenographer took notes. He was the only person in the room. As word spread, reporters and antiwar activists appeared. Gravel kept reading until 1:30 am, stopping only when overcome with tears while reading a particularly graphic report. When he composed himself, he asked for unanimous consent to put the documents into the public record. As Gravel was the only senator present, the proposition passed.

On June 30, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the New York Times and the Washington Post, saying they had the right to publish the Pentagon Papers. Furious, Nixon turned his attention to Ellsberg. Henry Kissinger believed Ellsberg was “the most dangerous man in America” and was determined to stop him (251). Kissinger and Nixon decided they would “destroy him in the press” (252), which they hoped would “silence him” and deter other would-be whistleblowers.

White House aid Egil Krogh and Kissinger’s staffer David Young were assigned to head the Special Investigations Unit focused on Ellsberg. Krogh was “overwhelmed by the responsibility” but “absolutely committed to the president” (256).

Meanwhile, Ellsberg was released on bail to await his trial. His sudden fame gave him “a platform” for his antiwar activities, yet many, including his former coworkers at Rand, considered him a traitor.

Krogh and Young were joined on the Special Investigations Unit by former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy and former CIA agent Howard Hunt. They jokingly began to refer to themselves as “the Plumbers” because their job was to stop leaks.

Filled with a “manic resolve” to carry out their mission, the four men “dissected” Ellsberg, looking for anything “that could be used to humiliate and discredit” him (259). They learned that Ellsberg had seen a psychiatrist, Dr. Fielding, and decided that they needed to have a look at his file. Liddy suggested that they break into the doctor’s office at night, and John Ehrlichman, who was Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs, approved the mission as long as it couldn’t be traced back to the White House. Hunt and Liddy established disguises and prepared for the mission.

In Los Angeles, Ellsberg pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He and Patricia returned to New York to await the start of the trial. However, Patricia worried that the apartment was bugged, and agents visited Ellsberg’s friends and colleagues, looking for “dirt” on Ellsberg.

Using their disguises and fake identities, Liddy and Hunt flew to California to inspect Dr. Fielding’s office and assess the feasibility of stealing Ellsberg’s file. They convinced the cleaning lady they were the doctor's friends and took photos inside Fielding’s office. Back in Washington, DC, Krogh approved the mission on the condition that Liddy and Hunt, who could be traced back to the White House, did not execute it.

Hunt contacted Bernard Barker, a man he knew from the CIA, who agreed to assemble a team and take on the mission of stealing Ellsberg’s file. Krogh asked the White House for money for the mission, and on September 1, 1971, Hunt and Liddy returned to California. Nervous, Krogh reminded them to exchange the money so it couldn’t be traced back to the White House, and he told them to call his home phone as soon as the operation was over.

Hunt confirmed that Dr. Fielding was at home and stationed himself outside his apartment. Liddy headed to Fielding’s office with Barker and his team of two CIA-trained covert operatives. Barker and his men entered the building with a supposed delivery for Dr. Fielding. They again encountered the cleaning lady, who seemed suspicious and watched them as they left the package in the doctor’s office. Back in the car, the men waited for the cleaning lady to leave. When her car was gone, they went to the back door of the building and found it locked. Instead, they chose a nearby window. They broke the window with a crowbar and climbed inside.

They used the crowbar again to pry open Dr. Fielding’s door and took out their supplies from the previously delivered package. Barker informed his operatives that they were looking for Ellsberg’s file, and the men set to work.

Back at Dr. Fielding’s apartment, Hunt panicked when he saw that Dr. Fielding’s car was missing from the driveway. When he couldn’t reach Liddy on the walkie-talkie, he rushed back to the office. Barker and his men were just leaving. They had searched the entire office, leaving it a mess to turn suspicion on “some junkie,” but they hadn’t found Ellsberg’s file. Back in Washington, DC, Liddy and Hunt showed Krogh their report, including Polaroids of Fielding’s “ransacked” office. They wanted to prepare another operation to search Fielding’s house, but Krogh and Ehrlichman refused to take the risk.

Nixon, however, was still full of “determination to destroy Daniel Ellsberg” (273).