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It's January, 1971 in Washington, D.C.

Inside the U.S. Capitol Complex, Daniel Ellsberg walked through a long hallway.

The corridor is studded with the offices of some of the most powerful politicians in the country, including Democratic Senator George McGovern.

Ellsberg opens a door and steps into McGovern's office.

It's a clean, wood-panelled room, and mounted on a desk is a campaign poster for the upcoming 1972 elections, an election in which McGovern is going to run for president.

The poster gives Ellsberg a brief flicker of hope.

McGovern may be the most vocal anti-war Senator in Congress, and if he beats President Nixon, it's almost certain he'll start with drawing America's troops from Vietnam.

That's exactly the outcome that Ellsberg would like to see.

For years, Ellsberg supported the Vietnam War, an America's broader Cold War, but as a military analyst, Ellsberg traveled to Vietnam and saw the fighting up close.

The experience left him convinced that the war was a hopeless cause.

And then soon thereafter, he discovered the Pentagon's secret history of the conflict, a nearly 7,000-page report detailing the horrors of the war and how America's leaders had deceived the public.

Ellsberg tried to warn his bosses at the military that the war needed to change course, but still the fighting continues to drag on, while all across the country, anti-war protesters clash with police.

It seems like America's social fabric is about to unravel, and so for Ellsberg, the only option is to find some way to put an end to the war himself.

That's why Ellsberg is here today, and the office of Senator McGovern who could very well be the next president.

If elected, he could bring an end to the war, but Ellsberg also knows McGovern can take action right now.

The door to the office opens and McGovern strides in, wearing a crisp navy blue suit.

Damn, please sit, sir, I'm late.

Oh, don't apologize. Busy job being a US senator. Throw on top of that, a presidential campaign.

Well, I won't say I've been getting as much sleep, sir, and you're right, time is tight. So what are we discussing?

Well, Senator McGovern, I wanted to start with a question. When you announced your candidacy for president, you said you wanted to tell the truth, the America president.

What are the truth, the American people about the war in Vietnam? Is that still the case? Of course, that's not posturing. That's what I want.

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