FBI SEEKING EX-PENTAGON AIDE IN LEAK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000300070001-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 29, 2004
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 18, 1971
• Content Type: NSPR

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By Ken W. Clawson
Washington Post Staff Writer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June
17--.Two FBI agents tried un-
successfully today to interview
Daniel L.llsberg, 40, a former
government economist who
was a member of the federal
task force that prepared a se-
cret study of the Vietnam war
that has been leaked to The
New York Times.
The FBI agents left the Ells-
berg residence on a shady,
tree-lilted Cambridge street
when no one responded to
their knock at the door.
I/
read the third installment of 'i '
The Tinges series only the .,2 Harvard Graduate
I
,
' As the FBI sought to talk
first two.
Ellsberg lives at 1.0 Hilliard with lllsberg, some govern-
(St. in Cambridge. For the past miient officials were raising the
possibility that ' preliminary
h
ilege in 1952 and later earned "never{ toV set foot in The
master's and doctoral de? Times again." The Times did
green In economics. Ile joined not publish any account of the
e has been a senor IIle said that Gelb said no, so
!research
research associate at the con- drafts of the war study, sep- he refused to tell Gelb any-
Iter for international studies arate from the 15 official 'thing .
at Massachusetts institute of copies, may still exist ;.nd: Zion said that after the show
Technology. could have been the source or l Nlu tong Schumach, t a Times
Because of Zion's allega- The Times series. reporter who was present in
tions Wednesday night, a few Ellsberg graduated summa +;,e studio
told t,;,,, that Gelb
newsmen were at the E11s-
berg house this morning when
the FBI agents arrived.
During the rest of the clay,
increasing numbers of medial
personnel rin;ieci the house and
at noon today an MIT security
officer said there had been at.
least 150 reporters and tele-
vision cameramen scouring the
campus in search of Ellsberg.
A spokesman for MIT said
that Ellsberg was on campus
Wednesday but he was not
Neither the FBI nor the Jus-'. seen today.
Lice Department would con- Meanwhile, in Detroit the
meat, but it was learned that Associated Press quoted Ells-
berg's father as saving that his
efforts to find E1lsberg were son had "every reason" to leak
intensified when he was not the secret Pentagon study on
available this morning. the war.
Ellsberg was publicly named "Ile said In 1967 that lie
as the Source of the secret would do everything in his
ocuments Wednesday night: power to get the boys out of
y a former New York Times there. I thought he has been
reporter, Sidney Zion. On a very consistent," said Harry
local New York radio show, Ellsberg. - -
Zion identified Ellsberg as the
ments and said his inforrna_ Although Ellsberg said he
tion came from "impeccable doesn't know for a fact that
sources." his son was the man who gave
- The New York Times de- the report to The New York
clinecl to comment on Zion's Tintes, the father said: "I've
allegation. been holding my breath for
Earlier Wednesday night a, several days since I heard
man identifying himself as
E ll s b e r g telephoned The
Washington Post and refused
to confirm or deny he leaked
and documents. Ile indicated
that he believed lie was under
surveillance, and was calling
from a public telephone booth
In Boston. .
In Washington today, Rep-
said Ellsberg gave him copies
of documents dealing with the
same subject more than a
about this thing. I thought it
could have been him,"
. A brother Harold, a New
York insurance executive, told
Westchester-Rockland Newspa-
pers today he last saw his
brother six months ago and
the two had never discussed
the Pentagon study.
.He said his brother at one
time "strongly supported the
U.S. war policy" in Vietnam,
but changed his mind after
working as a civilian aide on
the staff of Cc F t -d
n
the Defense Department fot?j; Zion allegations in its late ccli-
about a year as an aide to,! Lions today but did so briefly
Assistant Secretary John Mc-{an Friday's editions.
I Naughton, and laic in 1965 on the ,program, Zion was
went to. Vietnam and served
as attache at the embassy.
perience Ile had worked at the
hand Corp., the "think tank"
in Santa Monica, Calif., which
often works on government
projects. He returned there
P- S C_ LL vVL{tgG W-) 4.; /-V -
-Ll ~-t_L,~~' f- 1` ..~..---.1'
L"G L( C t - I
WhICA studio and asked him
whom he was about to name.
"Will you tell me if I'm
wrong?" Zion said he replied.,
asked how lie. obtained the in-
formation about Ellsberg.
He replied, "Weil, just like,
they won't tell where they got
it, I won't tell where I got it;
I can't, but I slid get it from
what I consider to be very im-
peccable sources." -
And lie added: "I want to
in 1967 and subsequently say that I think lie slid an ex-
traordinary act for the coun-
worked. on recommendations try and that he's to be praised
for Vietnam policy with presi- and not condemned ..."
dential aide Henry Kissinger.
In 1970 he received his
MIT appointment; it already
has been extended for next
year.
It_ was not known why Zion,
who quit The New York Times
in, 1969 to become co-editor of
Scanlan's, a defunct muckrak
ing magazine, chose to name,
Ellsberg. While offering no
proof, Zion assured Barry;
Gray, the radio program's mod-
orator, that Ellsberg definitely
furnished the Pentagon docu-,
ments to The New York Times.
Later, Zion told The New York
Post that The Times had tried
to prevent hint from revealing
Ellsberg's name. Just before
the show Zion said that Arthur
Gelb, The- Times mctropolitan
editor, called him at G-'ay's
, c wai
month ago, according to! Lansdale in Vietnam.
United Press International. -He took a 180-degree turn-
McCloskey, a war critic, said about - that's how he ex-
he could not tell whether the pressed it to me," said Harry.
copies he received were part""I think he became totally dis-
of the 47-volume Pentagon re_ jllusioneci about the entire,
port, but he said they were U.S. involvement from what)
not stamped secret. . -he saw." -
he added "I cannot re-
And ,
member that anything I have
Proved For Release 2005/01/11 : CIA-RDP88-01314R000300070001-5