Pentagon Papers

Cultural  

1. A classified study of the Vietnam War that was carried out by the Department of Defense. An official of the department, Daniel Ellsberg, gave copies of the study in 1971 to the New York Times and Washington Post. The Supreme Court upheld the right of the newspapers to publish the documents. In response, President Richard Nixon ordered some members of his staff, afterward called the “plumbers,” to stop such “leaks” of information. The “plumbers,” among other activities, broke into the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist, looking for damaging information on him.

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Example Sentences

Watergate originally sprang from Nixon’s vendetta against Daniel Ellsberg, whom he was determined to embarrass for exposing the Pentagon Papers.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2024

The Pentagon Papers case famously held that these orders—known as prior restraints—are unconstitutional, even when the government claims national security is at stake.

From Slate • May 21, 2024

Daniel Shehan, defense attorney for the New York Times in the 1971 Pentagon Papers case, sharply criticized AARO's report in an open letter on March 8.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2024

The history-making whistleblower leaked the Pentagon Papers, revealing longtime government deceit about the Vietnam War, and inspired acts of retaliation by President Richard Nixon.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 31, 2023

At the end of his trial four decades earlier, he had told reporters he intended to live a fairly quiet life from that point on—quiet, at least, in comparison to the tumultuous Pentagon Papers years.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin