In a classic example of policy disconnect, the State Department, while denouncing the publication of classified cables on the Internet by WikiLeaks, is at the same time promoting a documentary about Daniel Ellsberg, the most infamous leaker of the Vietnam era.

 

The Academy Award-nominated film, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, is being touted by the State Department’s “American Documentary Showcase” program, which screens representative American documentaries around the world.

 

In January 1969, a special task force completed a huge, top secret, 47-volume history of the Vietnam War. Ellsberg, who had worked on the report, felt that the public should be informed about its contents because they showed that the administration of President Lyndon Johnson (among others) had lied about the purpose of the war, as well as specific details. With a friend, Anthony Russo, Ellsberg photocopied the report, eventually sharing it with The New York Times, which began publishing excerpts on June 13, 1971.

 

The administration of President Richard Nixon accused Ellsberg and Russo of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. The case quickly made its way up to the Supreme Court, which, on June 30, voted 6-3 that the Times and The Washington Post had not violated the law by publishing the excerpts. Ellsberg was charged with stealing classified documents, but all charges against him and Russo were dropped on May 11, 1973.

 

Thirty-seven years later, the Obama administration, given the legal history of the Ellsberg case, seems unsure of how to proceed against Army Private Bradley Manning, who allegedly gave the State Department communiqués to WikiLeaks. In July 2010, Manning was charged with unauthorized disclosure of classified information and is due to be court-martialed. Manning has been compared to Ellsberg, who has publicly defended the soldier’s actions.

-David Wallechinsky

 

Amid WikiLeaks Storm, US Gov't Promotes Ellsberg Film (by Matthew Lee, Associated Press)

American Documentary Showcase (State Department)

No U.S. Law against WikiLeaks Publishing Diplomatic Cables (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)