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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Pentagon Papers

Pentagon Papers: New court documents show in detail the uneasy back-and-forth between Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Emil Michael, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

That president was Richard Nixon, and that whistleblower was Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers to reporters and ranked near the top of Nixon's infamous enemies list.

From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2024

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

He bought two tickets, one for him and one for the boxes, and flew home with the Pentagon Papers on the seat beside him.

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