1.
GV Committee room
0.08

2.
CU Ellsberg
0.11

3.
SV Muskie (furthest from camera) & Senator Thurmond in middle & one other
0.16

4.
GV Committee & audience listening (2 shots)
0.22

5.
SCU Ellsberg speaking
1.04

6.
GV Audience listening (3 shots)
1.14

7.
SCU Thurmond & Muskie (furthest from camera). arguing. Thurmond begins...
1.30

8.
MV Meeting breaking up
1.39


ELLSBERG: "There was a special interest in the Justice Department and specifically, a task force under Mr. Mardian, who was in charge of my case, to establish a link between Daniel Ellsberg and revelations of the Pentagon Papers and Democratic candidates and specifically, you, Senator Muskie. In other words, could I be made into a mudball that would stick to a Presidential candidate who could be associated with me, but the process of my prosecution was brought as part of a scheme to effect the primaries and, ultimately, the election and to re-elect the President. Everything that has come out since confirms that."



THURMOND: "You brought this... (argument and banging of gavel obscures words) and SOF ENDS with THURMOND saying "......I'm disappointed in you."



A Senate sub-committee in Washington on Wednesday heard evidence from one of the former defendants in the Pentagon Papers case...Dr. Daniel Elleberg. Under questioning by senators, he said the Watergate affair was the result of secrecy classifications given to Administration documents. Dr. Ellsberg said his own trial... abandoned last week... was motivated by politics.



Questioning by Senators Thurmond and Muskie degenerated into a shouting match. Senator Thurmond was critical of the motives behind Dr. Ellsberg's testimony.



Dr. Ellsberg had been invited to testify before the committee. The meeting ended soon after the argument between Senators Thurmond and Muskie.




Initials ES. 0.04 ESP/1929


TELERECORDING
COMMENTARY FOR GUIDANCE ONLY

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: The Former Pentagon Papers defendant, Dr. Deniel Ellsberg, said on Wednesday (10 May) he was "Prosecuted to reselect the President". He told members of the Senate Government Operations and Judiciary Sub-Committee that the administration had tried to link his disclosures with advisers to Democratic Party candidates for the presidency. Charges of burglary, conspiracy and espionage against Dr. Ellsberg were dismissed in Los Angeles last week on the grounds of irregular Federal procedure in the case.

Dr. Ellsberg was testifying on Wednesday at the request of the Senate Sub-Committee. He attacked the over-classification of documents adding that its price had been "Vietnam in foreign affairs and the Watergate in domestic affairs."
The most controversial part of his testimony concerned the Pentagon Papers case.

Dr. Ellsberg was questioned by Senator Thurmond and former Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator Edmund Muskie, but the questioning degenerated into a shouting match with Muskie banging his gavel as Senator Thurgood continued to speak.

Senator Thurgood took strong exception to Dr. Ellsberg's testimony, and he told Muskie, sitting next to him, that he brought Ellsberg to the hearing to discredit the President of the United Stated. He told him that because of that, he was not fit to be a Presidential candidate.