I went to go look up who released the Pentagon papers - the NYT, I had forgotten - and found out that the investigation into Watergate helped clear Ellsberg:

For his disclosure of the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg was initially charged with conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property, but the charges were later dismissed after prosecutors investigating the Watergate scandal discovered that the staff members in the Nixon White House had ordered the so-called White House Plumbers to engage in unlawful efforts to discredit Ellsberg.[5][6]