“James Goodale is an American treasure and so is Fighting for the Press. This is a story worthy of John Grisham, except this one actually happened; it is fact, not fiction – and it’s still unfolding.”
Dan Rather
“A legal thriller. A very important book. . . Both enlightening and entertaining.”
Harry Evans
“An engaging work which underlines the importance of fighting for a free press. Without press freedom, informed public debate is curtailed and democratic accountability diminished.”
Kofi Annan
On June 13, 1971, the New York Times published the first of the Pentagon Papers, a series of top-secret Defense Department documents exposing U.S. government policies on the unpopular war in Vietnam.
James C. Goodale, then the young chief counsel for the Times, was there leading the legal team every step of the way. This is his compelling, never-before-told story of what happened behind closed doors—the strategies, the decisions, the larger-than-life characters from the worlds of law, politics, journalism, and the military.
Besides recounting the story behind the Pentagon Papers, Goodale notes Barack Obama has threatened to pursue Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, just as Nixon went after Neil Sheehan and the New York Times. Goodale warns that this threat, if effected, may criminalize newsgathering.
Does Obama agree with Kerry that the NSA is on autopilot?
Even James Woolsey, former CIA director, agrees the NSA went over the line.
But when is Obama going to comment? Will he agree with Senator Feinstein that nothing should be done?
