The Post

...from the majority opinion: 'In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.'

The Post (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Daniel Ellsberg: But it didn't take him long to figure out, well, for us to figure out if the public ever saw these papers they would turn against the war. Covert ops, guaranteed debt, rigged elections? It's all in there. Ike, Kennedy, Johnson... they violated the Geneva Convention. They lied to Congress and they lied to the public. They knew we couldn't win and still sent boys to die. Ben Bagdikian: What about Nixon? Daniel Ellsberg: He's just carrying on like all the others, too afraid to be the one who loses the war on his watch.

The Post (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Ben Bradlee: So, can I ask you a hypothetical question? Ben Bradlee: Well, I don't think you're gonna like the real one, either. Katharine Graham: Do you have the Papers? Ben Bradlee: Not yet.

The Post (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Anthony Essaye: Ben, look, we know your reporters are talented. But, The New York Times spent three months going over these documents. You've got, what? Seven hours now until the paper goes to press? Can you honestly tell me that that is enough time to make sure not a single military plan, not a single U.S. soldier, not a single American life will be put in harms way? That this will do no damage to the United States if you publish? Ben Bradlee: Yes. Roger Clark: And you're sure about that? Ben Bradlee: No! That's why I've called you guys.

The Post (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Roger Clark: What if we wait? What if we hold off on printing today. Instead we call the Attorney General and we tell them that we intend to print on Sunday. That way we give them and us time to figure out the legality of all of it, while the Court in New York decides the Times case. Ben Bradlee: Are you suggesting we alert the Attorney General to the fact that we have these documents, that we're going to print, in a few days? Roger Clark: Well, yes, that is the idea. Ben Bagdikian: Yeah, well, outside of landing the Hindenburg in a lightning storm, that's about the shittiest idea I've ever heard. Fritz Beebe: Oh boy!

The Post (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Fritz Beebe: If the government wins and we're convicted, the Washington Post as we know it will cease to exist. Ben Bradlee: Well, if we live in a world where the government could tell us what we can and cannot print, then the Washington Post as we know it has already ceased to exist.

The Post (film), CC BY-SA 4.0