Washington Post to Out Contractrors Working on Top Secret Projects

The New York Times Co. v. United States, (per curiam) 403 U.S. 713, 91 S. Ct. 2140, 29 L. Ed. 2d 822 (1971), often referred to as the Pentagon Papers case, concerned the government's attempt to prohibit the New York Times and the Washington Post from publishing portions of a secret government study on the VIETNAM WAR.

The Pentagon Papers case addressed whether a prior restraint on the press can be justified under the First Amendment. A prior restraint is the imposition of a restraint on the publication of information before the information is published.

The Supreme Court decided on a 6–3 vote that a prior restraint could not be imposed on publication of the Pentagon Papers. In a brief opinion the whole Court noted that the government "carries a heavy burden of showing justification for the imposition of such a restraint" and stated that the government had failed to meet that burden. The brief opinion reflected the widely varying views of the nine justices. The Court could not agree on a precise standard for determining when the government may impose a prior restraint on free speech or even whether the government could ever impose a prior restraint.

This week the Washington Post is expected to publish articles and an interactive website that will likely contain a compendium of government agencies and contractors allegedly conducting Top Secret work.

In short, they are going to 'out' contractors working on top secret projects.

Some are saying that the government is concerned.

Others are saying the Obama Administration, outside of the intelligence corridor, is “basically cool with it.”