The Most Dangerous Man in America

The filmmakers of the Oscar-nominated "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers" discuss the making of the film.

On September 13, 2010, the New York Times Community Affairs Department and POV presented a panel discussion on the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, and the Times. The conversation, featuring Daniel Ellsberg, Max Frankel, former New York Times executive editor, and Adam Liptak, New York Times Supreme Court reporter, was moderated by Jill Abramson, managing editor of The New York Times.

2010 Oscar Nominee - Best Documentary Feature: In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a leading Vietnam War strategist, concludes that America's role in the war is based on decades of lies. He leaks 7,000 pages of top-secret documents to The New York Times, a daring act of conscience that leads directly to Watergate, President Nixon's resignation and the end of the Vietnam War.

In this clip from "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg" and the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg talks about how the knowledge he had about the Pentagon Papers made him an accomplice to the government's secrets, and how he decided that he would be willing to risk prosecution to bring these secrets to light.