Preserving U.S. history

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

As the nation’s top law enforcement agency, the FBI has amassed a treasure trove of investigative files on famous and infamous Americans. Some files are rich in detail on the civil rights movement, Vietnam War protests and other historic episodes. Other files deal with investigations or trivial incidents that have only a fringe connection to a noted person.

The FBI makes available on its Web site files on many deceased figures, including Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Charles Lindbergh, Albert Einstein, Al Capone, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.

Although many of the documents are heavily redacted, they still could provide useful nuggets to historians, journalists or other researchers trying to construct a more complete picture of the file’s subject. Previous revelations have even included evidence of FBI abuses, including smear campaigns and other subversive tactics that were commonplace when J. Edgar Hoover was the agency’s director.

Every so often the FBI destroys records without explanation.

Such was the case with files on the late Walter Cronkite, the famed CBS News anchor who developed a well-earned reputation as the most trusted voice in American journalism. USA Today reported Wednesday it had learned as the result of a Freedom of Information Act request that FBI files tied to Cronkite were destroyed two years ago, while he was still alive.

We would certainly like to hear the FBI explain why it took such irreversible action.

As the newspaper reported, FBI files under federal law are available for release once a person dies. The agency also has a rule that calls for preserving files with historical value.

But the fact that the FBI can simply destroy a file is an example of the limited reach of the open records law. Once a file is destroyed, that piece of history is gone.

In the interest of open government and to help preserve U.S. history, the FBI should do whatever possible to preserve its files. The agency still has broad latitude to redact information — many journalists and historians would say too broad — but at least such information can be recovered and declassified.