The Legacy of Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
This podcast features Government Accountability Project’s Legal Director, Tom Devine, and was originally published here.
On June 16, famed whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg died at the age of 92. Ellsberg became one of the most influential whistleblowers in history after he leaked the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times in 1971. The secret 7000-page history of US involvement in Vietnam, going back decades, revealed presidents and officials of both parties lying to the public and lying to each other. The leak made Ellsberg a top enemy of the government for years. This week, Brooke takes a look back at her conversations with Ellsberg over the years and speaks with Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, about Ellsberg’s legacy and the ways he changed public perception of whistleblowers in the U.S.