HW 5
Mark Felt. Linda Tripp. Daniel Ellsberg.
What do these three names have in common? They are arguably the most famous political whistleblowers in the history of the United States. Mark Felt, better known as his alias "Deep Throat", was a law enforcement officer employed by the FBI who was the secret informer to Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward and the whistleblower of the infamous Watergate scandal. Linda Tripp was a public affairs employee at the Pentagon who was the confidant of Monica Lewinsky and was the whistleblower to the Department of Justice for the Clinton and Lewinsky scandal. Daniel Ellsberg was a former employee of RAND Corporation who was the whistleblower for a study of the Vietnam War and how the Johnson administration lied to the public and to congress. This study is known as the Pentagon Papers.
While all of these infamous cases have uncovered major political issues and corruption, such as stealing and tampering with documents of political opponents, or exposing a Presidents lies about an affair, the Pentagon Papers leak uncovered a new level of corruption that affected a vast majority of people in the country. In the movie "The Pentagon Papers", the true depth of the lies and the intent behind the leak is explored. Viewers are shown brutal battle scenes, the PTSD of the soldiers, the behind the scenes of the study, and the eventual decision to tell the world the truth. The Pentagon Papers was the name given to a study done of the Johnson administration and the handling of the Vietnam war. The findings were damning, as it revealed that the President and his advisors knew that the war was a lost cause far before they admitted it, leading to the unnecessary loss of lives and a corrupt systematic lying act that wasn't just for the public. The study found that the administration had lied to congress as well as the public in order to continue to garner support for a war they knew would be endless.
Daniel Ellsberg was charged with conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property. In the end, he was cleared because the Nixon administration was found to be unlawfully discrediting him. Unlike the Watergate scandal that closely followed the Pentagon Papers scandal, Daniel Ellsberg chose to use his real identity when speaking with reporters to leak the documents. He chose to sacrifice his own freedom in the name of freedom of information for the public. He knew that the public and congress had been lied to and they deserved to know the truth.
Journalism plays a key role in each of these whistleblower cases, and the role of the media was the key factor in continuing Ellsberg's work after his arrest. While some may call what he did unethical and espionage, he saw corruption happening and he saw lives lost for pointless reasons and he decided that enough was enough. Journalism such as the Pentagon Papers leak is some of the most important work that can be done, as it hold our government accountable and remind the public that they have a right to information.
Comments