Daniel Ellsberg: Whistleblower who leaked Vietnam War-era Pentagon Papers dies at 92
Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked classified documents around the Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers, has died at 92.
Mr Ellsberg, who had been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer in February, died at his home in California, his family said.
Long before WikiLeaks or Edward Snowden, the Pentagon Papers were one of the most famous leaks in history, a case fictionalised in the 2017 Steven Spielberg movie The Post.
The documents revealed long-time US government doubts and deceit about the Vietnam War and sparked a furious reaction by then US president Richard Nixon.
The military analyst became the target of a smear campaign by the White House, with the president’s national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, calling Mr Ellsberg “the most dangerous man in America who must be stopped at all costs”.
Daniel Ellsberg in 1973. Pic: AP
Mr Ellsberg, a Harvard graduate, was a long well-placed member of the government-military elite. He had been an early supporter of the Vietnam War – but changed his mind, and went on to denounce it publicly.
Then, he secretly went to the media in 1971 in hopes of expediting the end of the yearslong conflict.
The Pentagon Papers had been commissioned by then defense secretary Robert McNamara in 1967 – and Pentagon officials had secretly been putting together a 7,000-page report covering US involvement in Vietnam from 1945 through 1967.
They were leaked and first published in The New York Times in June 1971.
The leaker’s identity became a national guessing game.
The Times never said who leaked the papers, but Mr Ellsberg was an obvious suspect because of his access to the papers and his public condemnation of the war over the previous two years.
With the FBI in pursuit, he turned himself in to authorities in Boston – becoming a hero to the anti-war movement and a traitor to the war’s supporters.
The Nixon administration quickly tried to block further publication on the grounds that the papers would compromise national security, but the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of the newspapers in a landmark case in 1971.
In his latter years, Mr Ellsberg became an advocate for government transparency.
Edward Snowden speaks during a video link news conference in 2016
He said Mr Snowden, a contractor for the National Security Agency who gave journalists thousands of classified documents on government information-gathering, had done nothing wrong.
He also said he considered Army Private Chelsea Manning a hero for turning over a trove of government files to WikiLeaks.
Hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members have been deported by the White House to a supermax prison in El Salvador, even as a US judge blocked the removals.
US District Judge James E Boasberg issued an order on Saturday temporarily blocking the Trump administration deportations, but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air – one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras.
Mr Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but the directive was not included in his written order.
Salvadoran police officers escorting alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday: “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order.
“The order, which had no lawful basis, was issued after terrorist TdA (Tren de Aragua gang) aliens had already been removed from US territory.”
In a court filing Sunday, the Department of Justice, which has appealed Mr Boasberg’s decision, said it would not use the Trump proclamation he blocked for further deportations if his decision is not overturned.
President Donald Trump sidestepped a question over whether his administration violated a court order while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening.
But he added: “I can tell you this. These were bad people.”
Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Police officers cut the hair of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government. Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Pic: El Salvador’s Presidency Press Office/Reuters
Asked about invoking presidential powers used in times of war, Mr Trump said: “This is a time of war.”
He also described the influx of criminal migrants as “an invasion”.
“Oopsie…Too late,” Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who agreed to house about 300 immigrants for a year at a cost of $6m in his country’s prisons, posted on X above an article about Mr Boasberg’s ruling.
The immigrants were deported after Mr Trump’s declaration of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has been used only three times in US history – during the War of 1812 and the First and Second World Wars.
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Tren de Aragua originated in an infamously lawless prison in the central state of Aragua and accompanied an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, the overwhelming majority of whom were seeking better living conditions after their nation’s economy came undone during the past decade.
The Trump administration has not identified the immigrants deported, provided any evidence they are in fact members of Tren de Aragua or that they committed any crimes in the US.
It also sent two top members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang to El Salvador who had been arrested in the US.
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Video released by El Salvador’s government showed the shackled men – who had their heads shaved – being transported to prison in a large convoy of buses guarded by police and military vehicles and at least one helicopter.
The immigrants were taken to the notorious CECOT facility.
The bar on deportations stands for up to 14 days and the immigrants will remain in federal custody during that time.
Mr Boasberg has scheduled a hearing Friday to hear additional arguments in the case.
A delivery driver who needed skin grafts after being burned when a hot tea from Starbucks spilled into his lap has been awarded $50m (£38.6m) in damages.
Michael Garcia suffered third-degree burns to his genitals, groin and inner thighs and has permanent and life-changing disfigurement after collecting the drink at a California drive-through, according to his legal team.
His negligence lawsuit blamed the injuries on Starbucks, claiming an employee did not wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeaway tray.
Video footage shows Mr Garcia being handed a tray of three drinks at the serving window in Los Angeles and appearing to struggle as he drives his vehicle away.
Incident happened at a Starbucks drive-through in California. Pic: Trial Lawyers for Justice
A Los Angeles County jury found in favour of Mr Garcia after he launched legal action over the incident on 8 February 2020.
He was working as a Postmates delivery driver at the time, according to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
His lawyer Nick Rowley said his client’s “life has been forever changed”.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” he added.
Starbucks said it sympathised with Mr Garcia, but plans to lodge an appeal.
In a statement, the global coffeehouse chain said: “We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive.”
The firm added it was “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
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US restaurants have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3m (£2.3m) in damages for burns she suffered while trying to pry the lid off a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through.
A judge later reduced the award and the case was settled for an undisclosed sum under $600,000 (£463,600).
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