New York Times Co. v. United States

Table of Contents

New York Times Co. v. United States
Overview
Context
About the Author
Explanation and Analysis of the Document
Impact
Document Text

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Abstract

The case, which was argued on June 26, 1971, and decided on June 30, 1971, was based on the release of a set of government documents that became known as the Pentagon Papers. Formally titled Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force, the Pentagon Papers provided a history of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, commissioned in 1967 by Secretary of Defense Robert Mc- Namara. The report not only gave a history of the United States’ relationship with Vietnam but also showed that Lyndon Johnson’s administration systematically misled or lied to Congress and the American public about the progress and aims of the war. When the New York Times began publishing excerpts from the report that had been leaked by military analyst Daniel Ellsberg, Nixon’s attorney general, John Mitchell, sought an injunction against the Times to stop publication.

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