The Pentagon Papers: Secrets, Lies and Leaks

Reveal

The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

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4.7 • 8K Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2021

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1971, a 22-year-old named Robert Rosenthal got a call from his boss at The New York Times. He was told to go to Room 1111 of the Hilton Hotel, bring enough clothes for at least a month and not tell anyone.

Rosenthal was part of a team called in to publish the Pentagon Papers, an explosive history of the United States’ political and military actions in Vietnam that shattered the government’s narratives about the war. Former military analyst Daniel Ellsberg leaked the secret papers to the press. In this episode, we hear the experiences of both Ellsberg and Rosenthal.

When Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, he was turning his back on a long career close to power, immersed in government secrets. His work as a nuclear war strategist made him fear that a small conflict could erupt into a nuclear holocaust.

When the Vietnam War flared, Ellsberg worried his worst fears would be realized. He wonders if leaking the top-secret report he’s read could help stop the war. Soon, he was secretly copying the 7,000-page history that would come to be known as the Pentagon Papers and showing them to anyone he thought could help.

President Richard Nixon wakes up to the biggest leak in American history. But his first reaction is a little surprising: The Pentagon Papers might make trouble for the Democrats – this instinct starts a chain reaction that helps bring down his presidency.

This episode was originally aired in May 2016.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Alan. I hope 2022 has been a good year for you. But to be honest, it's been a tough one for us.
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1:04.0	From the Center for Investigative Reporting in PRX, this is Reveal. I'm Al Letson.
1:09.0	I was at a friend's place, and I heard a laugh there. What's going on with the friends?
1:19.0	That's Robert Rosy-Rosy-Thaw. He used to run our newsroom and is now one of our board members.
1:25.0	He's talking to our former colleague, Michael Corey. Rosy's a born storyteller, and the story we're about to bring you has become one of our favorites.
1:33.0	I guess I love it so much because it intersects with history, free speech, and the power of the press. And of course, Rosy.
1:41.0	The story begins in 1971, and Rosy is about six months into an entry-level job at the New York Times.
1:48.0	And the phone rings, and you know, we didn't pay any attention. But then I hear his mother's voice saying,
1:52.0	Robert, she called me Robert. Robert, it's for you. So I'm like, who knows, I'm here.
1:59.0	It was one of the top editors at the Times. He told Rosy, don't come into the newsroom in the morning.
2:05.0	Go to room 11-11 of the Hilton Hotel.
2:08.0	Don't tell anyone where you're going and bring enough clothes for at least a month. You know, I was like, what?
2:15.0	So Rosy showed up the next day, and the Times had set up a whole mini newsroom in the middle of this giant hotel,
2:22.0	where they figured no one would notice them if they were careful.
2:25.0	You're going to be working on a really incredible story that is top secret, it involves the US government,
	...

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