I’m trying to read “The Pentagon Papers” and I seem to remember some vague reference that there was a connection between the Pentagon Papers and the Watergate break in and subsequent investigations. I don’t know if I’ve made it up, or if there really is a connection of some sort.
So was there a connection? and if so What was it?
A related question or two. There is mention in the book that CIA types contaminated the fuel in the Vietnamese buses so the engines would eventually seize (this was in the early 50s?). Any clue what the contaminant was?
In response to his leaking of the Pentagon Papers, the Plumbers had got their start by breaking into the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist in order to see if they could find anything that could be used against him.
Their last operation was, of course, the break-in at the Watergate …
Daniel Ellsberg wrote a memoir, called Secrets, that I highly recommend as an adjunct to your reading of the Pentagon Papers.
As to the original question, I’d agree with bonzer’s assessment. The release of the Papers fueled Nixon’s paranoia that there were leaks that needed plugging. The irony is that the Papers was really an indictment of past (democratic) administrations, and didn’t incriminate Nixon at all.