Daniel Ellsberg whistleblower behind Pentagon Papers, dead aged 92

Daniel Ellsberg, 92, has died of pancreatic cancer. Known as “the most dangerous man in America” Ellsberg was the whistleblower behind a Pentagon Papers leak in 1971 exposing US involvement in the Vietnam War.

Ellsberg, who passed away in his California home as confirmed by the family, was behind the exposure of US involvement in the Vietnam War. His move led to a Supreme Court case as the Nixon administration attempted to block publication in the New York Times. However, “espionage charges” were dismissed against Ellsberg.

In a statement confirming his death, Ellsberg’s family claimed that apart from being a “seeker of truth and a patriotic truth-teller, an anti-war activist”, Daniel Ellsberg was a loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather and an “inspiration to countless more”.

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Daniel Ellsberg, center, addresses the media outside the Federal Courtroom in Los Angeles, on May 10, 1973. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images file.

According to a BBC report, Ellsberg’s opposition took root during the 1960s when he advised the White House on nuclear strategy and assessed the Vietnam War for the Department of Defense. What he learned during this period, left its mark on him as he worked tirelessly to end the war and expose the US involvement.

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg was behind the release of almost 7,000 government documents, the “Pentagon Papers”, exposing the deception of past Presidents. The papers were in contradiction with public statements issued by the government on the war and paved the way for Richard Nixon’s fall from grace.

Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to expose actions the US had taken in the Vietnam War. Credit: Getty Images.

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Dubbed the “grandfather of whistleblowers” by Alan Rusbridger, the former chief editor of The Guardian, Ellsberg’s efforts helped to “radically” change public perception of the Vietnam War. Speaking to BBC about the move, Rusbridger said because of Ellsberg, “no US government has ever tried to injunct a paper on grounds of national security since”.

Moreover, the Pentagon Papers led to a First Amendment clash between The New York Times and the Nixon government as a result of which the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of the “freedom of the press”. Ellsberg on the other hand, was charged with theft, espionage, and conspiracy among other counts but the judge dismissed the case citing reasons of government “misconduct” as well as “illegal wiretapping”.

Daniel Ellsberg visited South Vietnam during the war. Credit: Getty Images.

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At the time, the judge claimed that during the case, he had been offered a position as an FBI director by a close aide of then-President Nixon. Another shocking revelation at the time showed the government had sanctioned a “burglary” of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office.

Born in April, 1031, Daniel Ellsberg served as a Marine Corps veteran and worked with the departments of Defense and State before reaching the Pentagon. During a 2022 interview with BBC‘s “Hardtalk”, Ellsberg claimed that he had been a secret “back-up” for the Wikileaks documents leaks. Speaking about the Wikileaks case, Ellsberg stated he felt Julian Assange “could rely on me to find some way to get it [the information] out”. It is pertinent to note, that in 2010, Julian Assange’s organization published approximately 700,000 confidential documents, videos and diplomatic cables provided to them through a US Army intelligence analyst.

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Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg speaks at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, April 27, 2015.

In an email to the Washington Post in March 2023, after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Daniel Ellsberg wrote: “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.”

When asked by Politico in a recent interview if whistleblowing is worth the risk, Ellsberg responded: “When we’re facing a pretty ultimate catastrophe… The answer is: Of course… You can even say it’s obligatory”.

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