Daniel Ellsberg has been called a traitor and the "most dangerous man in America." He's also been called a hero and a patriot. Over four decades ago he illegally released a set of documents known as the Pentagon Papers, top secret government reports that detailed the U.S. government's role in Vietnam dating back to the late 1940's. Those documents, eventually published in the New York Times, helped further turn public sentiment against the war, eventually bringing the conflict to an end.
Today Ellsberg is known as an influential whistleblower. He is speaking Tuesday night at CSU Bakersfield for an event presented the Kegley Institute of Ethics. Ellsberg's talk is set to focus on what he views as the need for more whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. He recently joined us to talk about his life, and about his thoughts on the actions of Snowden and Manning.