Surprised in this otherwise excellent obit of legendary journalist Neil Sheehan, the @nytimes didn't mention that the Nixon admin tried to charge Sheehan and his wife Susan under the Espionage Act *after* the Pentagon Papers Supreme Court case. nytimes.com/2021/01/07/bus…
The Pentagon Papers Supreme Court ruling is, of course, a landmark First Amendment opinion. But it's bizarre to me that the Nixon admin actually tried to *criminally charge* Sheehan for his reporting, and the case is almost lost to history.
One of the only descriptions of the Espionage Act grand jury investigation into Neil Sheehan, besides in the @nytimes archives, is this 2011 @dailybeast piece by former NYT general counsel James Goodale. It is an absolutely remarkable story. thedailybeast.com/wikileaks-prob…
After Nixon lost the Pentagon Papers Supreme Court case, he was enraged and still wanted the NYT prosecuted. While @DanielEllsberg's grand jury was happening in LA, federal prosecutors opened up an investigation into Sheehan in Boston for "conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act" 
The grand jury investigating both Sheehan and his wife Susan, who was a writer at the @NewYorker, subpoenaed several famous journalists and academics, including David Halberstam, Noam Chomsky, and Howard Zinn. thedailybeast.com/wikileaks-prob…
The @nytimes was so sure Sheehan was going to get charged, it drafted a statement condemning the indictment that never came. The only reason it didn't? The journalists and academics subpoenaed almost universally refused to comply. thedailybeast.com/wikileaks-prob…
This is yet another reason why it's vital for reporters to oppose the US government's case against Julian Assange. He's charged with the same crime Nixon tried to go after Sheehan with. Given the opportunity, future presidents will try try the same thing. thedailybeast.com/wikileaks-prob…
Basically the only other place online you can read details. about the grand jury investigating reporter Neil Sheehan for "conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act" is in the @nytimes archives from the early 1970s. nytimes.com/1971/07/15/arc… nytimes.com/1971/11/01/arc…
You can also read about this forgotten, yet incredibly important, aspect of the Pentagon Papers case in Sanford Ungar's excellent book "The Papers and the Papers." Unfortunately it's out of print, so it's hard to come by. amazon.com/Papers-Account…
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