From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Oct 94 15:14:26 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Humorous / Chilling FOIA Requests
Message-ID: <199410032213.SAA00596@pipe4.pipeline.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Responding to msg by ogd@selway.umt.edu (ozymandias G 
desiderata) on Mon, 03 Oct 11:49 AM

>	On the same note, do any of you have any humorous / 
>chilling  stories about what you found out when you got 
>your file?


The best I heard is that of a fairly noteworthy 60s radical who 
asked for his FBI file and was completely demoralized to learn 
that his FOIA request was the first and only item in his brand 
new file.

No one there cared about him until then -- or so he was told.  
Since then I have heard that this was a
technique used by the LEAs to blow people away and discourage 
them from getting their real files.
Quite illegal, to be sure, but well within approved procedures 
of the time.  Probably still done.

John