FBI Releases 191 Page File on Steve Jobs

On Thursday the Federal Bureau of Investigation made public a 191 page file on former Apple CEO and co-founder, Steve Jobs.

The file was apart of a background check that the FBI had conducted in 1991 when Jobs was being considered as part of George Bush Sr.’s political staff under the export council.

Many interviews with friends and family members were executed by the bureau and the question of drug use by Jobs seemed to be a frequent topic. Jobs has openly admitted to using drugs in his youth but when the question came up in interviews with friends of whether or not he still continued the use while at Apple, nearly everyone claimed he did not.

An unnamed female source said Mr. Jobs “drank only a little wine and did not use any kind of illegal drugs.”

One source interviewed by the FBI claimed he was aware that Jobs smoked weed and used LSD while they attended college stating that “during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr. Jobs may have experimented with illegal drugs, having come from that generation,” the report says.

A lot of the reports from media are pulling out specific quotes from individuals claiming that Jobs was a “deceptive individual,” and would “twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals.” While other outlets are looking to the softer side of the FBI files pulling quotes like this from a former friend, “basically an honest and trustworthy person, he is a very complex individual and his moral character is suspect.” Adding that Jobs “alienated a large number of people at Apple, as a result of his ambition.”

Who cares if Jobs did in fact continue the use of drugs at Apple. Clearly it was not hindering his ability to run Apple and continue to have it prosper. And, maybe some did consider him to be a “deceptive” person, but I’m sure there would be many unexpected words thrown around for anyone, including you or I, having a 191 page report created by the FBI.

I’m not defending or condemning Jobs, merely pointing out the fact that it’s easy to take a few excerpts from a report like this and spin it negatively.

Jobs was hugely successful and pushed Apple to be the largest technology company in the world, I’m sure along the way he had to make some decisions, personal or otherwise, that may have been viewed as “deceptive” to some.

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