Well, the news story said that an identical package sent to AP's UN Office was not inspected. So AP received a copy of that lab report after all. But maybe AP had a reason to fear a Customs seizure because they knew the information was sensitive and that's why they sent two copies. We don't know.

When a nation is at war, civil liberties are usually compromised. It seems here that the FBI probably overstepped its authority. But who knows. Maybe they told Customs not to send out a seizure notification because they were afraid it might give credence to the information. Maybe it was a damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't type of situation.

And just because something appeared in open court doesn't mean that someone later on can't mark it as classified information. Leaks and mistakes happen all the time. And after 9/11, all the rules for what can be kept from the public have changed. Many documents and statements that used to be on government web sites for the entire world to see are now gone ... all in the name of national security.

By seizing the document and admitting to the seizure with a seizure notice, maybe the FBI would have spilled the beans and let AP know that there was something potentially harmful to the nation in that lab report. In that case, maybe the FBI had a legal basis for not informing AP. Or maybe the seizure was done (illegally) to hide embarrassing information. We don't know.

I guess the bottom line is that if you have anything important to send someone, don't send your only copy.

Trampy