Editorial: On the trail of old files

Friday, June 16, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

A political science professor working on a biography of the late syndicated columnist Jack Anderson has refused to allow federal agents to cull through the documents he is using in his research.

According to a recent story in the Salt Lake Tribune, FBI officials in March contacted University of Utah professor Tim Chambless and asked to see his Anderson documents. Many of the papers are the same ones Chambless used in writing his dissertation during the 1980s.

Chambless rebuffed the FBI's request and has since given the documents to his attorney for safekeeping. The FBI has not contacted Chambless again, but the researcher sent a letter to the federal agency Monday reiterating his desire to be left alone. The exchange is similar to one that members of Anderson's family had with the FBI in April.

Federal investigators have said they are concerned that Anderson's old notes and papers contain national security secrets. Chambless denied that but told the Tribune that the documents do threaten "political security" and could cause "political embarrassment."

The professor also noted that some of Anderson's documents have been removed from the National Archives without explanation. This isn't surprising, in light of a seven-year Bush administration effort in which federal officials have spirited away thousands of public documents under a so-called "sensitive but unclassified" category. There are no official policies or procedures for the classification and no way to challenge or track such transactions.

If federal investigators have legitimate reasons to see the research and documents held by private citizens, agents may pursue such documents legally through subpoenas. Any other type of pressure is nothing more than a government-backed effort to suppress the free flow of information that our democracy is supposed to guarantee.