Threats to censure and possibly expel him from the Senate were withdrawn. But it rejected the notion that he had immunity to publish the documents in book form.īy the time the court ruled, Gravel was a national figure who appeared frequently at anti-war rallies and bid briefly for the 1972 Democratic vice presidential nomination. The court majority accepted that the Constitution granted immunity to Gravel for his reading of the papers into the Congressional Record. While lower courts expressed sympathy for Gravel’s stance, the high court’s 1972 ruling in the case of Gravel v. When the Justice Department went after the senator and his publisher, Gravel fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court. Gravel arranged to publish the papers in book form, as The Senator Gravel Edition (Beacon Press), with annotations from academics Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, two of the most prominent anti-war figures of the era. The senator was not done with the fight just yet, however. The papers do not support our best intentions.” The papers do not support our public statements. One can make these arguments only if he has failed to read the Pentagon Papers. One may respond that we sacrifice ourselves on the continent of Asia so that we will not have to fight a similar war on the shores of America. “One may respond that we made such a sacrifice to preserve freedom and liberty in Southeast Asia. “Arms are being severed, metal is crashing through human bodies because of a public policy this government-” He broke off, overcome with emotion. Killed as a direct result of policy decisions that we as a body have made,” Gravel said, as he wept and wiped away tears. “People, human beings, are being killed as I speak to you tonight. But before he finished, Gravel read from an address he had hoped to deliver on the Senate floor that night. At that point, a physically exhausted Gravel said he could go on no more. The senator proceeded to read from the documents until around 1 am. “It is my constitutional obligation to protect the security of the people by fostering the free flow of information absolutely essential to their democratic decision-making.” “In no way am I impairing the security of the United States,” declared Gravel, who had spent days reviewing the documents with aides. I have reviewed the papers in my possession and read much of the material. “When they were offered, I accepted them. “I did not seek these papers,” announced Gravel.
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