What You Don't Need to Know

Reason reader Handsome Dan Erdman (truly a name you can trust) alerts us to a Boston Globe article revealing that the Government Printing Office has ordered libraries to destroy five pamphlets published between 2000 and 2004 by the Department of Justice. An official at the American Library Association estimates that there have only been 20 to 30 instances since the mid-19th century wherein the GPO, acting on behalf of a federal agency, has made such a request to eliminate documents. The previous requests have been made on account of factual errors or outdated information in the documents and once—with a CD detailing information about U.S. water systems that was returned after 9/11—to secure information from potential use by terrorists.

So what do the current five pamphlets contain? Strategy tips on how the DOJ prosecutes asset forfeiture cases.