Family refuses FBI access to columnist’s ‘legacy’

In his heyday Jack Anderson broke the story of the CIA plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. Now, four months after his death, the investigative columnist apparently still has some secrets to disclose, because the FBI wants to rifle through his archives. Anderson’s family said it would not turn over his records. The FBI maintains that it is unlawful for individuals to possess classified documents, and that the material belongs to the government. At the height of his 50-year career Anderson’s Washington Merry-Go-Round column was carried by nearly 1,000 newspapers. He won a Pulitzer prize in 1972 for his reporting on US relations with India and Pakistan, and also made it to the top of Richard Nixon’s list of enemies. The records of his career, stored in 188 boxes, are held at George Washington University. The FBI first demanded access to the archives in March. The FBI maintained that it wanted access to the archives to help with the prosecution of two lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, who go on trial next month on espionage charges. (Media Guardian,April 21, 2006)

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