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Family denies FBI peek at late columnist's papersBureau suspects Anderson's notes hold classified informationFrom Terry Frieden  A First Amendment battle is brewing over the papers of the late columnist Jack Anderson. RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The family of late columnist Jack Anderson has rejected the FBI's demand to grant government investigators access to the famed muckraker's papers and notes. In a letter to the FBI Tuesday, attorneys for Anderson's family said the family had concluded it would be inconsistent with the life's work of the reporter to provide the materials to the bureau. "After much discussion and due deliberation, the family has concluded that were Mr. Anderson alive today, he would not cooperate with the government on this matter," the letter said. "Instead, he would resist the government's efforts with all the energy he could muster. "To honor both his memory and his wishes, the family feels duty bound to do no less," the letter said. Washington attorney Michael Sullivan, who represents Anderson's widow and children in the case, confirmed the letter was sent to the FBI Tuesday afternoon. He added, "I've been representing journalists for 25 years, and I've never seen the government make this type of request." Jack Anderson, who sought to uncover governmental wrongdoing with his "Washington Merry-Go-Round" column, died in December at the age of 83. He left 200 boxes of documents to George Washington University, which has not made them public because of the dispute with the FBI. Mark Feldstein, an associate professor and director of journalism at George Washington University, said Tuesday that he had received the materials from the family to aid his work on a biography on Anderson. "This is really outrageous," Feldstein told CNN Tuesday. "The FBI came to my house in early March and demanded -- not requested -- that any classified documents in the materials be given to them. The agents said they wanted the materials as part of the AIPAC investigation, and were trying to track down sources." AIPAC is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobbying organization in Washington. Two former prominent AIPAC officials have been charged with receiving sensitive government secrets relating to Iran from a former Pentagon official sympathetic to their cause. The FBI Tuesday confirmed it is seeking classified documents from Anderson's papers. "It has been determined that among the papers there are a number of U.S. government documents containing classified information," said FBI chief spokesman Richard Kolko. He would not confirm that the FBI actions stem from the AIPAC investigation. "We are working with the Anderson estate and other parties to resolve this matter in a way that is in the best interests of national security." Kolko added. The Anderson family has told the FBI that Jack Anderson's failing health kept him from reporting on the case. None of his associates had any significant contact with AIPAC or its employees during the period covered by the indictment, the family said. Feldstein, a former Anderson intern and former CNN correspondent, said the agents identified themselves as part of a counterintelligence squad from the Washington field office of the FBI. "I found their visit and demand rather chilling," Feldstein said. FBI officials, however, stressed any leaked classified documents remain the property of the government, and authorities will consider their options, including a possible subpoena. "Under the law, no private person may possess classified documents that were illegally provided to them," said Kolko. "There is no legal basis under which a third party could retain them as part of an estate. The documents remain the property of the U.S. government." "My response to that," said Kevin Anderson, son of Jack Anderson, "is that Dad would say they belong to all the citizens of the United States." Agents told the Anderson family they planned to remove any document they came across that was stamped "secret" or "confidential," or was otherwise classified, family members told The Associated Press. "He would be rolling over in his grave to think that the FBI was going to go crawling through his papers willy-nilly," Kevin Anderson told the AP. Anderson's family said the FBI came calling soon after his funeral, and told the AP they found the timing suspicious, as the AIPAC investigation dates back at least five years. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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