Apart from a major loss of trust in the executive branch of the federal government of the United States by the American public and Congress following the leak (not to mention a major embarrassment at home and abroad) the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 also forever altered the relationship between the press and the government; the release of the Papers marked the separation of the government's and press' agendas and ended collaboration between the two. [29]

   Additionally, the outcome of the Supreme Court case, New York Times Co. v United States, regarding the publishing of the Papers, paved the way for reduced censorship in the US. This also inspired the release of more classified government data through media outlets, such as Wikileaks' release of the Iraq War Logs in 2010. [30]

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