Crimes of the Times
Episode: The Pentagon Papers Trial
Host: Christopher Goffard (L.A. Times Studios)
Date: February 25, 2025
Overview
This riveting episode of “Crimes of the Times” explores the secretive and high-stakes world behind the leak of the Pentagon Papers—a turning point in U.S. history that exposed government deception about the Vietnam War and triggered a historic First Amendment battle. Host Christopher Goffard interviews central figures and witnesses, providing rarely heard personal stories behind the document’s release, focusing especially on the role of Linda Resnick (then Linda Senay), whose ad agency copier became ground zero for this act of whistleblowing. The episode chronicles the dramatic criminal prosecution that ensued, revealing the human and political costs for those involved, and weighs the legacy of the case in today’s legal and political climate.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Daniel Ellsberg’s Transformation and Motivation
- Background: Once a Marine and Pentagon consultant, Daniel Ellsberg becomes disillusioned with the war after seeing official government deception ([00:00]).
- Conscience vs. Loyalty: Ellsberg decides to leak classified documents detailing America's failures and lies in Vietnam, believing exposure could help end the war.
- Practical Challenges: In 1969, faced with technological barriers, his first hurdle is simply finding a Xerox machine ([01:30]).
2. The “Xerox Machine Operation” and Linda Resnick’s Involvement
- Hidden Hero: Linda Senay (later Resnick), owner of a small LA ad agency, agrees to lend her after-hours Xerox for copying top secret documents ([03:55]).
- Secrecy and Risk: For weeks, Ellsberg, Resnick, and Tony Russo painstakingly copy the Pentagon Papers, dodging guards and alarms. Resnick is told not to read the contents for her own legal safety ([05:14]).
- Personal Cost: Resnick reflects on youthful naiveté, lack of fear, eventual terror, and the risk to her children ([06:31]).
“Dan said, you have no security clearance. You may not read this, but you may cut and staple. Yes you may. I never read a word.”
— Linda Resnick, [05:12]
3. Aftermath: FBI Investigation & Psychological Toll
- Public Exposure: Resnick realizes her involvement after the LA Times publishes the story. The FBI subpoenas her before a grand jury and interviews all her employees ([07:03]).
- Stress and Harassment: She recounts relentless surveillance, therapy, intimidation by prosecutors, and being thrown in the drunk tank for fingerprinting ([09:12]).
- PTSD and Fear: The ordeal leaves Resnick traumatized for years ([09:28]).
“It was that kind of abuse, you know, it took me years to get over the post traumatic stress syndrome of living this terror for two years.”
— Linda Resnick, [09:40]
4. Legal Strategy and the Trial’s Fateful Turns
- The Charges: Ellsberg and Russo are tried under the Espionage Act, facing up to 115 years if convicted ([15:40]).
- Defense Arguments:
- Most of the information was already public or not actually “stolen” as legal property ([16:42], [17:08]).
- Historians, including Howard Zinn, are called to educate the jury and frame the leak’s context ([17:44]).
- Government Deception as a Defense Focus: Defense asserts “the truth was put on trial” for the first time and that secrecy was used to suppress embarrassing facts, not legitimate national security ([20:36]).
“The achievement of the Pentagon papers was to put the Vietnam war into a coherent narrative form as its own planners conceived it.”
— Christopher Goffard (paraphrasing Charles Nessen), [19:48]
- Political Interference:
- “Plumbers” break into Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office; jury tampering and wiretaps surface ([21:03]-[23:03]).
- Judge Matt Byrne is offered the FBI directorship by Nixon—a potential bribe undermining fairness ([26:32]).
“It’s like Nixon bribed the judge or was at least trying hard to bribe the judge to somehow get a conviction… The story of the Pentagon Papers is a story of recklessness.”
— Charles Nessen, [27:16]
5. Collapse of the Prosecution and Enduring Legacy
- Mistrial: Judge Byrne, after disclosure of government misconduct, declares a mistrial and dismisses all charges 'with prejudice' in May 1973 ([29:47]).
- Lingering Questions: The lack of a verdict means some legal and moral ambiguities remain for those involved ([30:34], [35:19]).
- Cultural Impact: The Pentagon Papers leak (and its prosecution) catalyzed events leading to Watergate and Nixon’s resignation; it remains both a cornerstone of press freedom and a cautionary tale about overzealous government secrecy ([30:46], [32:07]).
“Nixon made Ellsberg the number one enemy of the state. And Ellsberg stood up to him and toe to toe went up against him. And Nixon fell down in the end.”
— Charles Nessen, [31:45]
6. Personal Reflections and Modern Parallels
- Resnick’s Disillusionment and Later Activism: Shaken by her role, Resnick withdrew from public life for years but remains politically engaged, recently urging Democratic leaders to act post-2024 debates ([33:56]).
- Enduring Ambivalence: She still struggles with whether what she did was legally “right” without a definitive jury verdict ([35:19]).
“I didn’t talk about it. Cause it hurt so much… I mean, I was roughed up and I was scared. You know, we never found out if what we did was right or wrong because there was no trial, no verdict.”
— Linda Resnick, [34:08]
- Changed Legal Landscape: Current U.S. secrecy laws provide much less protection for those who make unauthorized disclosures, even in the public interest ([35:29]).
“There would be no defense of the sort of defense that was successful in our case… The chances of Dan being acquitted would be zero.”
— Mark Rosenbaum, [35:48]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
Early Risks
- “He offered to pay me 10 cents a copy, which I don't know if he ever did or not. We made a deal.”
— Linda Resnick, [05:00]
Psychological Crisis
- “I lost my voice for six months. I was talking like rather a metaphor, wouldn't you say?”
— Linda Resnick, [08:53]
Political Fallout
- “The leak of the Pentagon Papers prompted the President's men to break into the psychiatrist's office, a crime Nixon was attempting to cover up. When the Watergate burglary became public, which led to his disgrace and resignation.”
— Christopher Goffard, [30:46]
Important Timestamps
- 00:00–03:55: Ellsberg’s background, motives, and initial theft
- 03:55–06:47: Linda Resnick’s involvement and the logistics of copying
- 07:03–10:34: FBI investigation, harassment, emotional aftermath for Resnick
- 13:07–15:40: What the documents revealed and media battle over publication
- 16:32–20:36: Trial defenses and the case’s historical novelty
- 21:03–23:30: Watergate connections and government misconduct revealed
- 26:32–29:47: Judicial corruption, trial collapse, and legal strategies
- 32:07–35:48: Aftermath, modern legal implications, and reflections
Conclusion
This immersive episode uncovers the dramatic events and quiet heroics behind the Pentagon Papers, beyond the headlines and Hollywood retellings. Through first-person testimony and expert analysis, listeners gain a rare glimpse into the psychological cost and historical significance of whistleblowing—and of standing up to government dishonesty, even in the face of enormous personal peril.