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Last week Gerald Nicosia, the historian who first uncovered evidence the FBI tailed Mr. Kerry back in 1971, reported to police that three of the 14 boxes of the FBI files he obtained under the Freedom of Information Act were stolen from his California home ....

These would only be copies of the original documents, right??

The FBI shold still have the originals, wouldn't they??

It won't really matter. I'm sure it is all George W. Bush's fault: the stealing of the files, the errant record-keeping policies of the FBI, the weather, etc.

I mean, for Pete's sakes, it's happening "on his watch", so it must be his fault, right?

</sarcasm>

"The FBI shold still have the originals, wouldn't they??"

I would imagine so. I can't see the FBI allowing originals to be removed from their archives. I'd have to believe that security at the FBI is even tighter than the National Archives. There, you are not allowed to take anything into the reading room except a pencil and paper/notes. They actually prefer you to use the paper they provide. Your stuff is checked on the way in and again on the way out. Laptops only are allowed. They must be registered at the entrance to the building when you initially sign in. And, they will open your lap top to make sure you have nothing hidden inside. You sign in again (and out) wherever you go in the building, except of course the bathroom. You must leave your purse, coat, computer carrying case, and unallowed items in a personal locker, which locks for a quarter. You get the quarter back when you return the key to the locker. You can make copies of records, but you must request permission first from one of the clerks. They need to check the stuff before you can copy it. Most of it is declassified, but they still require you to check with them first. And as stated before, when you get ready to leave the reading room, you will have to sign out and everything you have with you (even your laptop), will once again be checked by the security officer on duty, and rechecked again once you get out to the floor level to leave the building.

I haven't been to the National Archives since 9/11, so I'm sure that the security procedures are even more intense now. They may even have returned the metal detector to the entranceway. It was removed one year to make room for the Christmas tree. As a person who had spent 23 years dealing with security issues, it was a bad move in my opinion. I believe they renovated part of the building, but I'm not sure if it was both entrances, or only the entrance to the secured documents (Bill of Rights, Constitution and Declaration of Independence) on display.