Daniel Ellsberg, leaker of Pentagon Papers, passes away at 92.

Daniel Ellsberg, Whistleblower Behind the Pentagon Papers, Passes Away at 92

Daniel Ellsberg, the courageous man responsible for leaking the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the hidden truths of the U.S. military’s strategy in the Vietnam War, passed away on Friday at the age of 92.

Despite battling terminal pancreatic cancer, Ellsberg chose not to pursue aggressive treatment, embracing his final months with unwavering determination.

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Ellsberg’s groundbreaking leak of classified documents unveiled the shocking extent of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam, revealing a trail of deception by multiple presidential administrations from 1946 to 1967. These papers, initially published by the New York Times and Washington Post in 1971, exposed the U.S.’s expansion of military actions without the knowledge of the American public.

“When I copied the Pentagon Papers in 1969, I had every reason to think I would be spending the rest of my life behind bars. It was a fate I would gladly have accepted if it meant hastening the end of the Vietnam War, unlikely as that seemed (and was),” Ellsberg wrote in a powerful social media post from March, announcing his diagnosis. “Yet in the end, that action — in ways I could not have foreseen, due to Nixon’s illegal responses — did have an impact on shortening the war.”

In late 1969, Ellsberg, along with his former RAND Corporation colleague Anthony Russo, meticulously copied a top-secret study of classified documents that shed light on the Vietnam War’s conduct. Commissioned by then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, these documents were intended to be introduced into the congressional record, but Ellsberg’s efforts were in vain.

The New York Times took the bold step of publishing stories based on the leaked documents on June 13, 1971. Faced with the Nixon administration’s desperate attempts to halt the publication, a lawsuit was filed, claiming that the leaks posed a threat to national security.

However, on June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court made a historic ruling, with a 6-3 majority in favor of upholding the publication of the classified details. This landmark decision became a testament to the power of the First Amendment.

Following the release of the documents, the Nixon administration launched a campaign to discredit Ellsberg, even resorting to orchestrating a break-in at his psychiatrist’s office in Beverly Hills. However, their efforts to tarnish his reputation ultimately backfired, leading to the dismissal of the charges against him.

Had he been convicted, Ellsberg would have faced over 100 years in prison on charges of theft, conspiracy, and violations of the Espionage Act. However, his case ended in a mistrial due to evidence of government-ordered wiretappings and break-ins.

In early March, Ellsberg revealed his terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis, with doctors estimating he had about three months to live. Opting out of chemotherapy, he chose to embrace hospice care, demonstrating his unwavering resolve until the end.

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