The Lying Machine

Ellsberg’s first day at the Pentagon, the day he became acquainted with what he came to call the “lying machine,” was August 4, 1964. Contradicting accounts of an attack in The Gulf of Tonkin would give President Johnson the green light to lead the country into war in Vietnam based on a lie. In the field in Vietnam, Ellsberg saw how the lies on the ground made their way back to Washington. Back home, his very first leak to The New York Times reporter Neil Sheehan helped to end a presidency.