Permanent historical factsheet

Pentagon Papers

United States of America · Politics / Watergate. Chronological records rendered directly from the World History Database.

19Records
1971–1973Date range
3Named people
0Places

Chronological records

1971

Daniel Ellsberg13 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

The New York Times begins publishing material from the Pentagon Papers leaked by Ellsberg, intensifying Nixon administration concern about unauthorized disclosures.

Richard Milhous Nixon13 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

Ellsberg releases the documents to New York Times correspondent Neil Sheehan & On Sunday, June 13, 1971, the Times publishes the first of nine excerpts and commentaries on the 7,000 page collection

Richard Milhous Nixon13 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

For 15 days, the Times was prevented from publishing its articles by court order requested by the Nixon administration, meanwhile, Ellsberg leaks the documents to The Washington Post and 17 other newspapers.

Richard Milhous Nixon13 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

The Washington Post begins publishing the Pentagon Papers - the Defense Department's secret history of the Vietnam War. The Washington Post will begin publishing the papers later in the week

Richard Milhous Nixon14 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

After failing to persuade the Times to voluntarily cease publication on June 14, Attorney General John N. Mitchell and Nixon obtained a federal court injunction forcing the Times to cease publication after three articles

Richard Milhous Nixon14 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

However, Kissinger convinced the president that not opposing the publication set a negative precedent for future secrets.

Richard Milhous Nixon14 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

President Nixon's first reaction to the publication was that, since the study embarrassed the Johnson and Kennedy administrations rather than his, he should do nothing.

Richard Milhous Nixon14 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

The administration argued Ellsberg and Russo were guilty of a felony under the Espionage Act of 1917, because they had no authority to disclose classified documents.

Richard Milhous Nixon14 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

Backs legal action to stop further New York Times publication of the Pentagon Papers after Attorney General John Mitchell demands that the newspaper halt.

Richard Milhous Nixon29 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

John Mitchell, Nixon's Attorney General, almost immediately issued a telegram to the Times ordering that it halt publication, The Times refuses, and the Government takes out a suit against it

Richard Milhous Nixon30 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

The Supreme Court ordered publication of the Times to resume freely (New York Times Co. v. United States)

Richard Milhous Nixon30 June 1971

Politics / Watergate

The Supreme Court rejects the administration's effort to prevent continued newspaper publication of the Pentagon Papers in New York Times Co. v. United States.

Richard Milhous Nixon9 September 1971

Politics / Watergate

The White House plumber's unit named for their orders to plug leaks in the administration burglarizes a psychiatrist's office to find files on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers

Richard Milhous Nixon9 September 1971

Politics / Watergate

The White House plumbers unit named for their orders to plug leaks in the administration burglarizes a psychiatrist's office to find files on Daniel Ellsberg, the former defense analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers

Daniel Ellsberg1971

Politics / Watergate

For his disclosure of the Pentagon Papers Ellsberg was initially charged with conspiracy espionage and theft of Government property

Daniel Ellsberg1971

Politics / Watergate

The papers revealed that the U.S.

Daniel Ellsberg1971

Politics / Watergate

but the charges were later dropped after prosecutors investigating the Watergate Scandal soon discovered that the staff members in the Nixon White House had ordered the so-called White House Plumbers to engage in unlawful efforts to discredit Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg1971

Politics / Watergate

had secretly enlarged the scale of the Vietnam War with the bombings of nearby Cambodia and Laos, coastal raids on North Vietnam, and Marine Corps attacks, none of which were reported in the mainstream media.

1973

John Ehrlichman13 June 1973

Politics / Watergate

Watergate prosecutors find a memo addressed to John Ehrlichman describing in detail the plans to burglarize the office of Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, The Post reports

Names involved

Daniel EllsbergJohn EhrlichmanRichard Milhous Nixon

Provenance

This factsheet is generated from stored World History Database records matching the country, broad category, detailed category and exact Event value shown above. Duplicate display records are collapsed; database wording is otherwise preserved. Source provenance varies by record, so formal academic citation should be checked against the relevant primary source, archive or specialist historical reference.