Hot Topics
Hot Topics
Theodore "Ted" Stevens
Theodore "Ted" Stevens died in a plane crash on August 9, 2010 at the age of 86. Stevens served as a U.S. senator from Alaska from December 24, 1968 until January 3, 2009. This release contains approximately 3,600 pages of responsive material; the majority of it—approximately 2,700 pages—consists of public source material from the media file associated with the pending "POLAR PEN" public corruption investigation of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. The remainder of the release consists of 11 main files from the Anchorage and Washington Field Offices and from FBI Headquarters. The files include material on extortion threats to the senator, press reports and newspaper articles about public corruption, and correspondence between Stevens and the FBI.
Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide
This release contains training material and other documents pertaining to Section 4 of the FBI's Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG). Section 4 of the DIOG outlines the FBI's oversight, self-regulation, and strict adherence to the Constitution of the United States in dealing with "Privacy and Civil Liberties, and Least Intrusive Methods," as the section is titled. We are releasing this material in answer to multiple FOIA requests for additional information on Section 4 and to explain more fully the established rules under which FBI employees carry out their mission with full respect for the constitutional and statutory rights of U.S. citizens.
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner, III is best known as the principal owner and managing partner of the New York Yankees for 37 years. This release contains material from three files covering illegal campaign contributions made by Steinbrenner and his company to the Nixon presidential campaign; a laboratory analysis for the Federal Highway Administration of several anonymous letters concerning possible fraud in the federal aid highway program in Ohio; and Steinbrenner's appeal for a pardon from his conviction for illegal campaign financing and obstruction of justice.
Daniel Schorr
Daniel Schorr (1916-2010) was an acclaimed journalist who worked for CBS, CNN, and most recently, National Public Radio, and he was known for his work as a foreign correspondent working in the Soviet Union. This release consists of material from two files covering a "Foreign Agents Registration Act" investigation initiated during World War II, when Mr. Schorr took a job as a foreign correspondent for a Dutch news service; and a Special Inquiry Investigation of Mr. Schorr requested by the Nixon Administration for fraudulent reasons that was ended as soon as the Bureau realized what had happened.
Howard Zinn
On July 30, 2010, the FBI released one file with three sections totaling 423 pages on Howard Zinn, a best selling radical historian, teacher, playwright, and political activist.
Edward “Ted” M. Kennedy
Edward “Ted” Moore Kennedy served as U.S. senator for the state of Massachusetts from November 7, 1962 until his death in 2009. This release consists of material from seven FBI files—three Headquarters files and four field division files, totaling more then 2,200 pages. It covers the FBI’s relationship with Senator Kennedy from 1961 to 1985. At no point do these files suggest that the FBI investigated Senator Kennedy for a criminal violation or as a security threat. The bulk of this material concerns FBI investigation of threats of violence and other extortion claims against Senator Kennedy and other public officials.
William Lewis Safire
On April 7, 2010, the FBI released six files totaling 345 pages on William L. Safire, a Pulitzer Prize winning political columnist and a speechwriter for President Nixon who died on September 27, 2009.
Over the course of his journalistic and political career, Mr. Safire came to the attention of the FBI in several matters. The main files released document four separate investigations between 1965 and 1994. Only one of these investigations concerned a potential criminal matter involving leaks of classified material to newspaper reporters. No evidence of improper or illegal leaks by Safire was found by the Bureau.
Amerithrax Investigation
On February 19, 2010, the Justice Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service formally concluded the investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, releasing 30 FBI files totaling 2,720 pages.
Additional releases will be made when the files have been processed under the guidelines of the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy.
