United States v. Ehrlichman

546 F.2d 910 (1976)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The Pentagon Papers were leaked to the press in 1971. Their leakage caused President Nixon to form a special unit that was to investigate the source of the leak and to prevent similar leaks from occurring in the future. Ehrlichman (D), assistant to the president on domestic matters, was assigned to lead the special unit. The primary focus of the group was on Daniel Ellsburg, who was the man who released the Pentagon Papers to the press. A plan was hatched to perform a covert operation to examine all the records held by the psychoanalyst of Ellsburg so long as it was not traceable back to the White House. Without permission of the President or the Attorney General and without a warrant, D and his 'crack' covert team that included G. Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt broke into the psychoanalyst’s office. They failed to find the documents they were looking for. D was indicted for conspiracy to commit burglary. D appealed and claimed that the break-in related to a national security operation and thus does not require a judicially approved warrant. D argues that this is a natural extension of the recognized exception for wiretaps done by the executive branch that relate to foreign affairs.