On June 30th, 1971 the Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling allowed the New York Times to continue publishing the Pentagon Papers. Initiated by then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1967, his aim was to create a written history of American political and military involvement in Viet Nam.
In early 1971 Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Papers to the New York Times. Ellsberg had worked as an aide to former Assistant Secretary of Defense John T. McNaughton, an early head of the project, and had been given access to the work at RAND Corp, a think tank that had been one of the recipients of the Pentagon Papers.
The Papers revealed that four administrations (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson) had lied to the public about U.S. intentions in Viet Nam; consistently downplaying initial involvement and commitment of American troops.
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