Poking Holes In Our History In Pursuit of Leaks

Inside the First Amendment
Poking Holes In Our History In Pursuit of Leaks
By Paul K. McMasters
First Amendment Center

... The news broke this week that shortly after the death of legendary investigative reporter Jack Anderson last December, FBI agents contacted his widow and demanded access to 188 boxes of his papers destined for transfer to George Washington University archives.

The FBI apparently wanted to search Anderson’s notes and source material for evidence to use in the government’s prosecution of two former lobbyists. Agents also said they would have to remove any classified information they might find.

Anderson’s family rejected the demand. They doubt the papers contain anything relevant to the FBI’s stated interest. More important, they see this move as a violation of Anderson’s values and legacy. As Anderson himself wrote several years ago: “When something has come across my desk classified as a national security secret, it has involved the misdeeds and manipulations of people who had abused the public trust, and then had swept the evidence under the secrecy stamp.”

This tug of war over the Anderson papers is just the latest in a chilling series of government threats to press practices and principles, to historical accuracy and to the public’s right to know ...

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/042006PokingHoles.html