Daniel Ellsberg

[[Image:DanielEllsberg-1.jpg|thumb|right|Daniel Ellsberg ©1990 Jock

The Pentagon Papers

Working again at Rand, Ellsberg managed to procure, photocopy, and return a large number of classified papers regarding the execution of the war. These documents later became collectively known as the Pentagon Papers. They revealed the knowledge, early on, that the war would not likely be won and that continuing the war would lead to many times more casualties than was admitted publicly. Further, the papers showed a deep cynicism towards the public and a disregard for the loss of life and injury suffered by soldiers and civilians.

Related Topics:
Photocopy - Classified - Pentagon Papers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ellsberg knew that releasing these papers would most likely result in a conviction and sentence of many years in prison. Throughout 1970, Ellsberg covertly attempted to convince a few sympathetic Senators (among them J. William Fulbright who refused to break the law) to release the Pentagon Papers on the Senate floor, because a Senator cannot be prosecuted for anything he says on record before the Senate. No Senator was willing to do so.

Related Topics:
1970 - Senators - J. William Fulbright

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Finally, Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times. On June 13, 1971, the Times began publishing the first installment of the 7000 page document. For 15 days, NYT was prevented from publishing its articles on the orders of Nixon administration. However, Supreme Court ordered publication to resume freely. Although the Times did not reveal Ellsberg as their source, he knew that the FBI would soon determine that he was the source of the leak. Ellsberg went underground, living secretly among like-minded people. He was not caught by the FBI, even though they were under enormous pressure from the Nixon Administration to find him.

Related Topics:
June 13 - 1971 - FBI - Nixon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fallout

The publication of the papers greatly detracted from public support for the war in Vietnam. This was a primary reason that President Nixon decided to make discrediting Ellsberg a high priority. Nixon's Oval Office tape from June 14 shows H. R. Haldeman describing the situation to Nixon.

Related Topics:
Oval Office - June 14 - H. R. Haldeman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

: To the ordinary guy, all this is a bunch of gobbledygook. But out of the gobbledygook comes a very clear thing: you can't trust the government; you can't believe what they say; and you can't rely on their judgment. And the implicit infallibility of presidents, which has been an accepted thing in America, is badly hurt by this, because it shows that people do things the president wants to do even though it's wrong, and the president can be wrong.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The release of these papers was politically embarassing, not only to the incumbent Nixon Administration, but also to the previous Johnson and Kennedy Administrations. Nixon's Attorney General John Mitchell almost immediately issued a telegram to the Times ordering that it halt publication. The Times refused, and the government brought suit against them.

Related Topics:
Johnson - Kennedy - Attorney General - John Mitchell

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although the Times eventually won the trial before the Supreme Court, an appellate court ordered that the Times temporarily halt further publication. This was the first successful attempt by the federal government to restrain the publication of a newspaper; this was remarkable because prior restraint has historically been viewed as the most oppressive form of censorship. Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers to other newspapers in rapid succession, making it clear to the government that they would have to obtain injunctions against every newspaper in the country to stop the story.

Related Topics:
Supreme Court - Appellate court - Prior restraint - Censorship

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On June 28, Ellsberg publicly surrendered to the US Attorney's Office in Boston, Massachusetts. He was taken into custody believing he would spend the rest of his life in prison; he was charged with theft, conspiracy, and espionage.

Related Topics:
June 28 - Boston, Massachusetts

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In one of Nixon's actions against Ellsberg, G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt broke into Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office in September 1971, hoping to find information they could use to discredit him. The revelation of the break-in became part of the Watergate scandal. On May 3, 1972, the White House secretly flew a dozen Cuban CIA "assets" to Washington DC with orders to "totally incapacitate" Ellsberg. (They backed out because the crowd was too large.) Because of the gross governmental misconduct, all charges against Ellsberg were eventually dropped.

Related Topics:
G. Gordon Liddy - E. Howard Hunt - September - 1971 - Watergate scandal - May 3 - 1972 - Cuba - CIA - Washington DC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~