Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American activist and former United States military analyst who was known for releasing the classified Pentagon Papers to "The Washington Post".
Pentagon Papers.
While employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War, to "The New York Times" and other newspapers.
Charge.
Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 along with other charges of theft and conspiracy, carrying a total maximum sentence of 115 years. Due to governmental misconduct and illegal evidence gathering, and the defense by Leonard Boudin and Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. dismissed all charges against Ellsberg on May 11, 1973.