Pentagon Papers Released (1971)

Sun Jun 13, 1971

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Image: Daniel Ellsberg, co-defendant in the Pentagon Papers case, talks to media outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles on April 28th, 1973. Photo credit Wally Fong, AP [nbcnews.com]

On this day in 1971, the Pentagon Papers, leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, were published by the New York Times, detailing secret information about the history of and disinformation about U.S. involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The Pentagon Papers were the result of a study conducted by the Department of Defense which Ellsberg had contributed to.

The study revealed that the U.S. had secretly enlarged the scope of its actions in the Vietnam War with coastal raids on North Vietnam and Marine Corps attacks, and that the Johnson administration had routinely lied to both Congress and the American public about involvement in Vietnam.

For his disclosure of the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg was initially charged with conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property. These charges were later dismissed after prosecutors investigating the Watergate scandal discovered that the staff members in the Nixon White House had ordered the so-called “White House Plumbers” to engage in unlawful efforts to discredit Ellsberg.

On January 3rd, 1973, Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 along with other charges of theft and conspiracy, carrying a total maximum sentence of 115 years. Due to governmental misconduct and illegal evidence-gathering, he was dismissed of all charges on May 11th, 1973.

The Pentagon Papers were only fully declassified in June 2011.