In recent years
there has been a variety of issues that involve security background
checks and the questions people have about what information is kept
on them. But the examples used of government files are not
representative because they are usually of people who are very
involved in a variety of non-trivial, non-subtle and controversial
areas.
A classic example of
that in today's news is the FOIA request by Laura Poitras who has been
detained by Homeland Security whenever she has entered or left the
country and received various “no fly” judgments on attempting to
board an aircraft. I am sure that her file is quite interesting and
I am also sure that when we see it, it will be the kind of unusual or
controversial file that I am referring to above. Why? Because, as
Ms. Poitras knows very well, she is under suspicion for and is
certainly a collaborator in what is probably the single most damaging
and extraordinary intelligence disaster in the history of this
country, possibly any country. So of course she is being
investigated, and of course the file will contain intelligence
information as well as information that is part of various criminal
investigations that have not yet completed (and for which charges
have not (yet) been filed).
But what does a
normal file look like, one that is of a serious and senior
professional who has worked for the government, worked for private
industry and knows many people, some of whom are or were presidents
of the United States, and some of whom were certainly controversial
in one way or another, in this case because they were heavily
involved in the labor movement of the 1930s.
I happened to come
across an online version of the FBI background check file on Anna
Rosenberg who was a labor relations consultant before and after WW 2. She was attacked by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee during
the McCarthy period when she was nominated for a government post. She served on a variety of government
committees that involved labor relations particularly as it involved
the war effort. She worked directly for Pres. Roosevelt at various
times.
I think that her FBI
file is well worth glancing act to see what is involved, the kinds of
questions they asked, the things they noted that caused them concern,
etc.
True, this is about
a person from another era, a post WW 2 era, but I suspect it has
things in common with similar activities today (e.g. extended
background checks on people nominated for government service or who
require a security clearance). The Internet makes this process
easier, but by no means does it do all the work that needs to
be done.
So if you are
interested in such things, take a fast look at this. It can be found
at
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