Hey, prime members, you can listen to American Scandal add-free on Amazon music.

Download the app today.

A listener note, this episode contains graphic imagery and may not be suitable for a younger

audience.

It's October 4, 1969 in Los Angeles, California.

In an office on the west side of town, Daniel Ellsberg creeps through a silent corridor.

The night is late, and by now the office is completely cleared out.

So Ellsberg moves carefully, stalking through the hall like a burglar.

He can't risk being seen by a security guard.

A moment later Ellsberg turns a corner and arrives at a small dark room.

He steps in and flicks a light switch and the fluorescent bulbs come flickering to life.

And there, standing in the corner of the room is a hulking Xerox copier.

Ellsberg pauses.

The Xerox machine seems almost like something out of science fiction, something that can

spit out endless copies of paper documents.

And that's exactly what Ellsberg needs right now.

When his arm is a thick blue folder labeled Vietnam Task Force, it contains a top secret

report that belongs to the United States government and it reveals a dark truth about the Vietnam

War.

The government has been lying, and these deceptions have caused tens of thousands of deaths.

Ellsberg is planning to photocopy these documents tonight, tomorrow night, and every night

after until he has copies of the entire 7,000 page report.

...