President Richard Nixon believed that he could not stop the release of the Pentagon Papers, so he became concerned that Daniel Ellsberg might reveal more classified information. To damage Ellsberg’s reputation, Nixon instructed members of the White House “Plumbers” unit—David Young, Howard Hunt, and G. Gordon Liddy—to break into the Los Angeles office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, Dr. Lewis Fielding. They hoped to find private or embarrassing information that could be used against Ellsberg. Photographs displayed on the desk of deputy clerk James Haggarty later served as evidence of the government’s serious misconduct toward Ellsberg.
How President Richard Nixon Tried to Discredit Daniel Ellsberg After the Pentagon Papers Leak: The Secret Break-In at His Psychiatrist’s Office and Its Consequences
On September 3, 1971, the Nixon administration’s secret “Plumbers” unit broke into the office of psychiatrist Dr. Lewis Fielding, who treated Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg. The goal was to find information that could damage Ellsberg’s reputation, but the burglars found no useful records. The break-in later became part of the Watergate scandal.
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