FBI "disclaimer" message?

[laanatassha25]

Hi,

I have a quick question.

Why did the FBI put on the footer of a letter stating the dates results of my polygraph the following message:

"Ther document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency."

Does that mean that the agency that the FBI sent this letter to (DHS) was not to re-distribute/re-dissiminate this letter from the FBI?

Thanks

[Aunty Agony]

Does that mean that the agency that the FBI sent this letter to (DHS) was not to re-distribute/re-dissiminate this letter from the FBI?

Of course that's what it is intended to mean. It is a bald statement by the FBI that some unspecified authority instructs the recipient to keep the letter confidential.

Aunty is not a lawyer and is not licensed to give legal advice.

But if she were, she would probably say this: It seems obvious that the authority is not specified because the FBI wants the recipient to believe that the authority is the FBI itself. But if the FBI had this authority, it would say so -- and it doesn't.

Absent a previously negotiated confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement, no judge would ever rule that this wording, placed as it is at the end of the document (as opposed to, say, on the outside of a cover folder), is binding on anyone.

I dare say that even you could legitimately share the information in the document (unless you have a confidentiality agreement with DHS). OTOH you shouldn't to annoy the FBI without good reason.

The general rule, supported by custom, convention, expectations of gentlemanly behavior, middle-school pinky swears, equity court precedent, civil rights decisions, and federal black-letter law, is this: you have to get the secrecy agreement first, and only then can you disclose information in the expectation that it will be held private.

There are some exceptions. In the case of a penitent to his priest, a client to his lawyer, or a patient to his doctor, the confidentiality agreement is assumed. In the case of diplomatic or military secrets, confidentiality is enforced via 18 U.S. Code § 798, although by convention the documents must be covered and marked.

A typical low-class lawyer trick is to claim that the correspondence he sends you cannot be further disseminated because of "privilege", "confidentiality", or even "copyright". This is one of the hallmarks of a meritless claim. In this case, it is probably just the high sleaze content of anything to do with polygraphy seeping through and tainting the document.

However, remember AINAL (Aunty is not a lawyer).

[xenonman]

Hi,

I have a quick question.

Why did the FBI put on the footer of a letter stating the dates results of my polygraph the following message:

"Ther document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency."

Does that mean that the agency that the FBI sent this letter to (DHS) was not to re-distribute/re-dissiminate this letter from the FBI?

Thanks

Sounds like it might an ORCON classified (Originator Controlled) document.