On Wednesday, September 26, 2001, at 10:58 AM, Steve Furlong wrote:
mmotyka@lsil.com wrote:
This discussion about talking to the FBI has me ROTFLMAO. I feel like I'm watching a John Wayne movie with its simplified moral categories of good and evil. Why not say that cooperation is dependent upon the situation? Exercise your judgement.
Exactly. I was rolling my eyes rather than my ass <g>, but it works out the same.
The first two examples that came to my mind were kidnaping and security clearance background checks. While one may debate whether kidnaping should be a federal crime, it _is_, and it's the Feebs' job to investigate it. Similarly with background checks for clearances. Perfectly valid reasons to talk to the Feebs.
Only if you know your coworker or neighbor is a spy. I've refused to answer questions about neighbors when they were being checked out by the FBI. I told the agents, this was in the mid-80s, that I had no interest in speculating to them about a person I knew only in passing. I expect a lot of background checks get idle speculation from bluehairs and busybodies. --Tim May