FBI drops its quest for papers of reporter

At the time, the FBI confirmed it wanted to remove any classified materials from Anderson's archives, located at George Washington University, before they were made available to the public. An FBI spokesman said then that the bureau had determined that some of Anderson's papers contained classified information about sources and methods used by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The spokesman said that under the law, no private person may possess classified documents that were illegally provided to them, and that these documents remain the property of the government.

The standoff, which appeared to have begun with an FBI effort to find evidence for the criminal case against two pro-Israel lobbyists, quickly hardened into a new test of the Bush administration's protection of government secrets and journalists' ability to report on them.

Anderson's son and one of his father's biographers said they were questioned by agents who expressed interest in documents that would aid the government's case against the two former lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who have been charged with receiving classified information. The case was criticized by civil liberties advocates as criminalizing the routine exchange of inside information.

George Washington University journalism professor Mark Feldstein, who is writing a Jack Anderson biography, said Wednesday that he and family members told the FBI there was no classified material in the hundreds of boxes holding Anderson's files.

"It was dusty old stuff that I couldn't imagine would be relevant to a criminal probe," Feldstein said.

In the questionnaire from the Judiciary Committee, Clinger was asked if the FBI's interest in the Anderson papers stemmed from worries that the papers might disclose information about former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's personal life. The committee also wondered whether the FBI interest was related to the court case against the two former AIPAC employees.

"We sought to review the papers to determine, among other things, whether public disclosure of them would cause a risk to national security," Clinger told the committee. "Access was not sought because Anderson allegedly had information regarding former Director Hoover's personal life. Additional information responsive to this inquiry is classified."

University of Utah law professor Tim Chambless, who is writing a biography of Anderson, said "the FBI's imposition has had a chilling effect." He believes the agency gave up on its quest because of the coming change in House and Senate leadership and the promise that new leadership intends to have extended oversight of the FBI.

Chambless said his work has been derailed by the investigation, causing him to place documents he had in an undisclosed location for safekeeping.

"I'm happy we can close this chapter and move ahead with what I promised Jack I would do," Chambless said. "It's a victory, not just for academics, but for journalists and for political scientists and for anyone who is interested in government."

Feldstein added: "We've been holding our breath, wondering if they were going to come after us further. I'm relieved to hear they have backed away from what I think was a pretty egregious overreach, to be going after papers of a dead reporter for classified documents from decades ago."

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