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=**__CHAPTER 1: THE PENTAGON PAPERS APPEAR__**=

On July 23, 1970 President Richard Nixon signed off on the Houston Plan. The original author for the plan was White House aide Tom Charles Houston. The main goals of the “Houston Plan” were to: Greatly expand the domestic intelligence gathering by the FBI, CIA and other government agencies. However not all whitehouse aids agreeded with this plan. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was the one to disapprove of the plan. Hoover felt this plan of action was too dangerous. His greatest fears were that if any of the wire tapping, political infiltration or calculated break-ins were revealed to the public there would be serious repercussions. Hoover knew that if any of this information leaked out into the public it would reflect poorly upon the government's past and present actions. He advised both Nixon and Houston to re-think their decisions reguarding the plan. The next day Nixon ordered all copies of the plan to be collected and withdrew his support for the “Houston Plan”.
 * July 23,1970**

Though Nixon rescinded his signature from the Houston plan, several elements suggested in the plan were still carried out, and the FBI, which had originally objected to the plan, came back on board to implement several aspects of it. In the Houston plan one can see the beginnings of the justification by the Nixon administration for the actions taken which would become known as Watergate. The wiretapping, illegal entry, and cover- up were all part of the normal operating procedures for the Nixon White House. The subverting of the CIA and other intelligence gathering agencies from their official goal of obtaining information outside of the United States, and the use of the FBI and other organizations such as the IRS to illegally harass U.S. citizens under the guise of looking for “left wing radicals” was standard operating procedure for the Nixon White House. These actions however were unethical as well as illegal as they were not undertaken to protect the integrity of the United States but were rather undertaken to bolster the power of an administration and its political allies.

On June 13, 1971 the //New York Times// published a copy of the "Pentagon Papers." They were excerpts of a secret Pentagon study that was put out by Daniel Ellsburg. Ellsberg is considered responsible for leaking the papers to journalist Neil Sheehan.Ellsberg who lived a secret life among the people went underground. He was never caught by the FBI but he was under strong pressure by the Nixon Administration to find him. It focused on how policy and major decisons had been made during the war. This document was the First Installment of the Pentagon Papers that were published and relaesed to the public.The first installlment was a 7,000 page document. After the New York Times published the first article on these papers, the U.S. government went to great lengths to block additonal stories. The Nixon Administration attempted to block further publications, while Attorney General John Mitchell obtained a temporary injunction against The New York Times. For 15 days, the //New YorkTimes// was prevented from publishing its articles on the orders of the Nixon administration. But the Supreme Court ordered that the publication to resume freely.
 * June 13, 1971**

Daniel Ellsberg had hoped that leaking these papers and then having them published for the public would affect President Nixon in a way that would lead him to change his policy and approach in Vietnam. Instead, it only established a belief that every government delcaration could be subject to skepticism and scrutiny. Because of this, it lead the Federal Government to impose a restraint on the name of National Security in the US. They did this by creating the Plumbers Unit in the White House. These men were in control and responible for protecting government information from being leaked. As you read on, you will discover that this new Unit would contribute significantly to the Watergate Scandal.

On September 3, 1971, the "Plumbers" broke into Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office filing cabinet. The Plumbers were a group in Nixon's administration known for pluging leaks in the administration. Daniel Ellsberg the former Defense Analyst had taken photos of the Pentagon Papers, he then gave the photos to the //New York Times// and other newspapers. The Plumbers were attempting to find information on Daniel Ellsberg and discredit him for releasing the papers; which were to be classified documents. Both the Plumbers and the Nixion Administration were willing to go to great lengths to protect the President, and cover up the government's secrets.
 * September 3, 1971**

​ A picture o​f //Time Magazine// that has articles of Pentagon Papers.

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