Incident
United States government seeks an injunction to stop The New York Times publishing the Pentagon Papers
After The New York Times began publishing a leaked secret history of the Vietnam War, the Nixon administration obtained a court order stopping further publication, the first such order against a major American newspaper. The Supreme Court lifted it two weeks later, ruling the government had not justified blocking publication in advance.1
What happened
Military analyst Daniel Ellsberg copied a classified Defense Department history of United States involvement in Vietnam, later known as the Pentagon Papers, and gave it to The New York Times, which began publishing excerpts on June 13, 1971. The Department of Justice obtained a temporary restraining order from a federal court on June 15, 1971, the first time the United States government had gone to court to stop a major newspaper from publishing a specific story, arguing publication would harm national security. When The Washington Post also began publishing excerpts, the government sought an injunction against it too. The Supreme Court of the United States, the country's highest court, heard the consolidated case on an emergency basis and ruled 6 to 3 on June 30, 1971, in New York Times Co. v. United States, that the government had not met the heavy burden required to justify stopping publication in advance, and both papers resumed publishing.231
What reason was given
Stated justificationGovernment lawyers argued that publishing the classified history would cause grave and irreparable harm to United States national security and ongoing diplomatic and military efforts in Vietnam.3
What changed for reporting
The New York Times and The Washington Post were barred by court order from publishing further excerpts of the Pentagon Papers for roughly two weeks until the Supreme Court lifted the injunction.231
Timeline
1971
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Ellsberg | other | Military analyst who copied the Pentagon Papers |
| Richard Nixon | enforced | President of the United States (1969-1974) |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| The New York Times | outlet | affected |
| The Washington Post | outlet | affected |
Sources
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- The Pentagon Papers were commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and covered the United States role in Indochina from the Second World War until May 1968, before Daniel Ellsberg leaked them in 1971.
Pentagon Papers, papers that contain a history of the U.S. role in Indochina from World War II until May 1968.
Pentagon Papers, Encyclopaedia Britannica.Claim 134, checked 2026-09-22. - The Supreme Court's per curiam opinion said any system of restraints on publication ordered in advance came to the Court bearing a heavy presumption against being constitutional.
Any system of prior restraints of expression comes to this Court bearing a heavy presumption against its constitutional validity.
New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971), Justia US Supreme Court Center, 1971-06-30.Claim 132, checked 2026-09-22. - Justice Hugo Black wrote that the press was protected precisely so it could disclose the government's secrets and inform the public.
The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people.
New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971), Justia US Supreme Court Center, 1971-06-30.Claim 133, checked 2026-09-22.