Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers to push the US to end the Vietnam War, died at his home in California on June 16 at the age of 92.
Reuters quoted information from Mr. Ellsberg's family as saying that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At that time, doctors said Mr. Ellsberg could live from 3-6 months and he decided not to undergo chemotherapy.
Daniel Ellsberg speaks before an informal House committee on the Pentagon Papers, July 28, 1971.
In the late 1960s, while working as a defense analyst for the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg changed his mind about the Vietnam War. His change of heart came after he read classified documents that showed the US had lied to the public about its ability to win the war, when in fact it was the opposite, according to CNN.
In 1971, Mr. Ellsberg secretly contacted the media in hopes of hastening the end of the Vietnam War. He leaked all 7,000 pages of documents he had obtained while working at the RAND Corporation to The New York Times.
Mr. Ellsberg admitted to leaking the documents and faced 115 years in prison after being charged with espionage under the Espionage Act. He was eventually released after it emerged that former President Richard Nixon's administration had wiretapped Mr. Ellsberg's conversations, leading to a mistrial.
The leak of the "Pentagon Papers" by Mr. Ellsberg was portrayed in the 2017 film "The Post."
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