On Thursday the FBI released its 191 page file on the late Apple founder Steve Jobs.
According to the FBI website Jobs was considered for an appointed position on the U.S. President's Export Council in 1991. The FBI file on Jobs consists of the FBI's 1991 background investigation of Jobs for that position and a 1985 investigation of a bomb threat against Apple. The FBI released the file under a Freedom of Information Act request.
A USA Today news article summarizes the FBI report. The quick condensed summary of Steve Jobs was that he was strong willed, stubborn, hardworking and driven, twisted the truth at times, and probably took a few recreational drugs in late sixties and early seventies.
There was nothing in the USA Today summary that would really be considered shocking considering who Steve Jobs was. As a very successful and powerful businessman he probably rubbed a few people the wrong way, so a few negative comments on his integrity would no seem out of line.
Comments made more interesting that the news
What was really interesting about the USA Today article was not the content of the article, but the content of the comments left by the readers of the article.
Reading the comments you would think there is some conspiracy by the FBI and the news media to slam Steve Jobs as many folks asked why the media or the FBI would want to smear Mr. Jobs.
There were also a few comments made such as "Why not release their files on JFK and MLK, that would be some interesting reading."
If the folks making the comments would have followed the link in the article to the FBI website, they would have learned two very important lessons.
First lesson learned, the FBI was not singling out Steve Jobs. If you look at the website FBI Records: The Vault, there are more than 3,000 documents that have been scanned from paper into digital copies so you can read them in the comfort of your home or office.
There's no conspiracy here folks, the Kennedy's, Martin Luther King, and many other famous figures all have declassified files here for you to read. Released under The Freedom of Information Act.
Second lesson learned, as someone pointed out in their comments, why not release the files on these famous folks, that would be some interesting reading. Well the files have been released on these famous folks, and they are indeed some interesting reading.
The file on Steve Jobs
We read through all 191 pages of the FBI file on Steve Jobs. The most fascinating fact we found, Jobs high school GPA was a 2.65 on a 4.0 scale. The business and technology giant was a pretty average high school student.
Other than the mention of drug use while in college, the only other negative comment mentioned in interviews is that Jobs has a daughter born out of wedlock that initially he did not provide support for her.
The general consensus of all those interviewed was that Jobs would be a good candidate for a position in government. The FBI files give no indication as to why the position was never offered to Steve Jobs.
The electronic reading room know as the FBI Records Vault is a fascinating look into American history, and totally accessible from your home computer at Vault.FBI.Gov
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