Speaker 1: In the nineteen sixties, as war raged in Vietnam, an
Speaker 1: inside operative leaked top secret documents that shocked the American public,
Speaker 1: where his actions patriotic or treasonists. American Scandal is a
Speaker 1: podcast from Wandery that explores the darker stories that have
Speaker 1: shaped the United States. From the Unibomber to Bernie Madoff.
Speaker 1: These are stories that revealed the underbelly of America, ruthless, secretive,
Speaker 1: and power hungry. In the new season, American Scandal looks
Speaker 1: at the controversial decision made by a young government official
Speaker 1: named Daniel Ellsberg to leak the Pentagon Papers, the documents
Speaker 1: that led Americans to demand an end to the catastrophic
Speaker 1: Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers revealed that the government knew
Speaker 1: the Vietnam War could not be won, but kept fighting anyway.
Speaker 1: Once Elsberg realized this terrible truth, he made the bold
Speaker 1: decision to leak the documents, and the consequences altered the
Speaker 1: course of American history. You're about to hear a preview
Speaker 1: of American Scandal the Pentagon Papers. While you're listening. Follow
Speaker 1: American Scandal on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you
Speaker 1: get your podcasts.
Speaker 2: It's October fourth, nineteen sixty nine, in Los Angeles, California,
Speaker 2: in an office on the west side of town, Daniel
Speaker 2: Ellsberg creeps through a silent corridor. The night is late
Speaker 2: and by now the office is completely cleared out, so
Speaker 2: Elsburg moves carefully, stalking through the hall like a burglar.
Speaker 2: He can't risk being seen by a security guard. A
Speaker 2: moment later, Elsberg turns a corner and arrives at a
Speaker 2: small dark room. He steps in and flicks a light
Speaker 2: switch and the fluorescent bulbs come flickering to life. And
Speaker 2: there standing in the corner of the room is a
Speaker 2: hulking Xerox copier. Ellsberg pauses. The Xerox machine seems almost
Speaker 2: like something out of science fiction, something that can spit
Speaker 2: out endless copies of paper documents, and that's exactly what
Speaker 2: Elsberg needs right now. In his arms, it's a thick
Speaker 2: blue folder labeled Vietnam Task Force. It contains a top
Speaker 2: secret report that belongs to the United States government, and
Speaker 2: it reveals a dark truth about the Vietnam War. The
Speaker 2: government has been lying and these deceptions have caused tens
Speaker 2: of thousands of deaths. Elsberg is planning to photocopy these
Speaker 2: documents tonight, tomorrow night, and every night after until he
Speaker 2: has copies of the entire seven thousand page report. And
Speaker 2: when he's finished, he's going to release the documents to
Speaker 2: the public to reveal the truth. It could land him
Speaker 2: in prison for the rest of his life, but it's
Speaker 2: a risk Elsberg is willing to take if it puts
Speaker 2: an end to the Vietnam War. Elsberg raises the lid
Speaker 2: of the Xerox machine and lays the first sheet of
Speaker 2: paper on the glass surface. After hitting a few buttons,
Speaker 2: a bar of light begins to scan across the glass.
Speaker 2: Then the machine starts churning out the first copy page.
Speaker 2: As the Xerox machine clunks and sputters, Elsberg glances around
Speaker 2: the office. He knows he's lucky to be here. Few
Speaker 2: Americans have access to copiers, but Elsberg has a friend
Speaker 2: who works in the building, and she was generous and
Speaker 2: brave enough to let him use the machine late at night.
Speaker 2: The page finishes copying, and Elsburg reaches for another document.
Speaker 2: Well Suddenly there's a tapping on the door. Elsburg spins
Speaker 2: around finds two police officers standing in the doorway. Good evening, sir, mind,
Speaker 2: telling me what's going on here? Oh, officer, you startled me.
Speaker 2: I'm just doing a little work. We can see, but
Speaker 2: it's a little late for work. Yeah, big week ahead.
Speaker 2: The officer step forward, sir, what's your name? My name
Speaker 2: Daniel Ellsberg, And you work here? Oh no, I'm sorry, officer.
Speaker 2: I don't work here, but my friend does, and she
Speaker 2: knows you're here at night after everyone left, completely by yourself,
Speaker 2: using this company's property. Well, yeah, that's right, I'm just
Speaker 2: finishing up it up a project project. There's a lot
Speaker 2: of paperwork you've got there. Elsberg tries to muster a smile. Well, yes, officer,
Speaker 2: it's a big project. Well would you mind if we
Speaker 2: just have a look see what you're working on. One
Speaker 2: of the officers steps forward, his hand outstretched. Elsberg begins
Speaker 2: to panic. Right behind him is a folder with documents
Speaker 2: labeled top secret. Elsberg is a military analyst who's approaching
Speaker 2: the peak of his career. But if the police officer
Speaker 2: see what he's up to, Elsberg's life, as he knows
Speaker 2: it could be over. His eyes start left and right
Speaker 2: as Elsberg searches frantically for a plan B. But right
Speaker 2: as the officer reaches for the documents. A voice calls
Speaker 2: out from behind them. The two policemen turn and there,
Speaker 2: striding forward is Linda Sanay, Elsberg's friend and the one
Speaker 2: who let him use the office. Her eyes twinkle as
Speaker 2: she smiles, and Siney tells the officers that everything's okay.
Speaker 2: She works with the ad agency. Elsburg's allowed to be here.
Speaker 2: The officers shoot each other a suspicious look, but then
Speaker 2: with quick nods, their posture softens and they take off.
Speaker 2: Once they're out of sight, Elsburg nearly collapses in relief.
Speaker 2: He reminds his friend that she might have just changed
Speaker 2: the course of American history. She's a hero, but Sinnay
Speaker 2: smiles and deflects the gratitude. She reminds Ellsberg that he's
Speaker 2: the one who deserves the praise. He's taking an enormous
Speaker 2: risk to help end the war. Now, Ellsberg needs to
Speaker 2: get back to work. The public can't wait any longer
Speaker 2: to know the truth about Vietnam. Ellsburg nods, turns back
Speaker 2: to the syrax machine. She's right, they've lost enough time already.
Speaker 2: You'll need to stay up throughout the night if he
Speaker 2: wants to make progress copying these government files. You'll have
Speaker 2: to go page by page, night after night, until the
Speaker 2: job is done, and he's not going to stop, not
Speaker 2: until he brings the truth to the public and ends
Speaker 2: the Vietnam War. The decision to go to war is
Speaker 2: one of the most consequent choices the nation's leaders can make.
Speaker 2: War is risky, costly, and violent. It takes an immense
Speaker 2: and lasting toll on the combatants involved, and sometimes the
Speaker 2: validity of such a decision is debated. Sometimes that debate
Speaker 2: is never resolved. The Vietnam War is arguably the most
Speaker 2: infamous and controversial war in US history. American involvement in
Speaker 2: Vietnam began as an outgrowth of its Cold War conflict
Speaker 2: with the Soviet Union. At the time, Vietnam was comprised
Speaker 2: of two rival halves in the North and South. South
Speaker 2: Vietnam was a capitalist republic, while North Vietnam was controlled
Speaker 2: by communist revolutionaries known as the Viet Kong. American leaders
Speaker 2: believed that the Soviet backed Viet Kong was gaining too
Speaker 2: much power. They feared that if South Vietnam fell to
Speaker 2: the communists, it would accelerate the spread of communism in
Speaker 2: Asia and around the globe. This fear was known as
Speaker 2: the Domino effect, and to prevent it, the US joined
Speaker 2: forces with the South Vietnamese. Initially, support for US involvement
Speaker 2: was widespread, but that support began to dissipate in the
Speaker 2: mid nineteen sixties when it appeared the war was escalating
Speaker 2: with no end in sight. Many Americans wanted to know
Speaker 2: why they were spending their blood and treasure, and began
Speaker 2: questioning the government in unprecedented ways. One of the people
Speaker 2: asking questions was Daniel Ellsberg. Elsburg was a young government
Speaker 2: official helping to set US policy in Vietnam. He soon
Speaker 2: discovered that US leaders were secretly escalating a war they
Speaker 2: knew could not be won. As a result, thousands of
Speaker 2: men were drafted every year, only to be senselessly maimed
Speaker 2: or killed. Once Elsberg recognized this terrible truth, he acted
Speaker 2: to expose it. He leaked documents now known as the
Speaker 2: Pentagon Papers. This is episode one the Cold Warrior