Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg (April 7, 1931 – June 16, 2023) was an American activist and former United States military analyst who was known for releasing the classified Pentagon Papers to The Washington Post.

Pentagon Papers
While employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, to The New York Times and other newspapers.

Charge
Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 along with other charges of theft and conspiracy, carrying a total maximum sentence of 115 years. Due to governmental misconduct and illegal evidence gathering, and the defense by Leonard Boudin and Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. dismissed all charges against Ellsberg on May 11, 1973.

Death
In March 2023, Ellsberg wrote that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died at his home in Kensington, California, on June 16, 2023.

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Category:1931 births
Category:2023 deaths
Category:American political activists
Category:American economists
Category:American political writers
Category:Writers from Chicago
Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Category:Educators from Chicago
Category:Activists from Chicago