The Federal Bureau of Investigation advised Congress last month that it will no longer seek to recover classified information that may be contained in the collected papers of the late Jack Anderson.
The FBI “is not seeking to reclaim any documents,” the Bureau said in response to a question from Senator Arlen Specter.
The FBI statement (pdf) was contained in the answers to questions for the record from a May 2, 2006 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on FBI Oversight that were posted on the Federation of American Scientists web site by Secrecy News yesterday.
The Associated Press today noted the FBI’s renunciation of its pursuit of the Jack Anderson papers. Earlier in 2006, the Bureau had expressed concern that the Anderson archive may contain classified indication and approached the Anderson family to review the collection.
See “FBI Drops Its Quest for Papers of Reporter” by Laura Jakes Jordan, Associated Press, and Wendy Leonard, Deseret Morning News, January 4.
While it seems that the current political climate may not incentivize the use of evidence-based data sources for decision making, those of us who are passionate about ensuring results for the American people will continue to firmly stand on the belief that learning agendas are a crucial component to successfully navigate a changing future.
In recent months, we’ve seen much of these decades’ worth of progress erased. Contracts for evaluations of government programs were canceled, FFRDCs have been forced to lay off staff, and federal advisory committees have been disbanded.
This report outlines a framework relying on “Cooperative Technical Means” for effective arms control verification based on remote sensing, avoiding on-site inspections but maintaining a level of transparency that allows for immediate detection of changes in nuclear posture or a significant build-up above agreed limits.
At a recent workshop, we explored the nature of trust in specific government functions, the risk and implications of breaking trust in those systems, and how we’d known we were getting close to specific trust breaking points.