Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower, dies at 92

OAKLAND, Calif. - Daniel Ellsberg, a famous Vietnam War-era whistleblower, died on Friday at 92, his family announced. 

In 1971, Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, thousands of top-secret documents that showed US officials were not truthful with the American public about how the Vietnam War was unfolding. 

The Pentagon Papers also showed how the US entered the Vietnam War, and how the Truman Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations all played crucial roles in starting and maintaining the war, the New York Times reported in 1971.  

The leak prompted fierce backlash from the Nixon administration with then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dubbing Ellsberg as "the most dangerous man in America."

Ellsberg was charged by the Dept. of Justice in 1973 for violating the Espionage Act and faced a potential maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. Ellsberg, at the time, said he had no regrets and called his actions "my duty as a citizen." 

When asked if he had any second thoughts on his decision to leak the papers, Ellsberg said he did not.

"How can you measure the jeopardy I’m in … to the penalty that has been paid already by 50,000 American families and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese families?" he said. "It would be absolutely presumptuous of me to pity myself in that context and I certainly don’t."

Ellsberg worked as an analyst for the US military when he shared the Pentagon Papers with the press. The result of the reporting on the documents sparked a national debate over freedom of the press and helped to eventually bring an end to the war.  

The press was initially barred from printing the documents, but the US Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment upholds the right to publish classified documents. 

After the release of the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg was an outspoken anti-war activist in the Bay Area and across the nation. He was a supporter of other whistleblowers, such as Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. 

Snowden called him "a hero to the end."

Journalist Glenn Greenwald, one of the reporters who revealed a US government-run surveillance program, also called Ellsberg a "hero" with "rich layers of… character [and] moral courage," who held a "tireless commitment to exposing the corruption and systemic deceit" of various government agencies.  

Praise for Ellsberg flooded social media on Friday. 

"Sad to hear Daniel Ellsberg has passed away," tweeted CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. "He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy."

Even Barbra Streisand tweeted praise.

"Daniel Ellsberg was a truth teller and a great man. May he rest in peace," she tweeted.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) called Ellsberg a "good friend."

"[Ellsberg]’s support has always been uplifting," Lee said in a statement. "I’m heartbroken at his loss, but I know he has inspired countless people across the world to stand up for what is right."

Ellsberg last spoke with KTVU in late 2019 about the whistleblower who leaked the memo that ultimately resulted and then-President Trump's first impeachment inquiry.  

"We cannot have a democratic system if the president is able entirely without appeal, without any other challenge, to control what Congress shall know about what he is doing, what he has done," Ellsberg told KTVU.

Ellsberg called the Bay Area home for more than 40 years. He was a lecturer at UC Berkeley and joined in on the Occupy Cal protests in 2012.

Ellsberg was diagnosed in February with pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife Patricia, daughter Maria, sons Michael and Robert, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

"Daniel was a seeker of truth and a patriotic truth-teller, an antiwar activist, a beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, a dear friend to many, and an inspiration to countless more," his family wrote in a statement. "Thank you, Daniel, for sharing your wisdom, your heart, and your conscience with the world. We will keep your flame alive."