The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

FBI file: Steve Jobs was considered for govt post

FILE - In this April 4, 1991, file photo, Steve Jobs of NeXT Computer Inc. poses for the press with his NeXTstation color computer at the NeXT facility in Redwood City, Calif. FBI background interviews of some people who knew Jobs, who founded Apple in the 1970s, reveal a man so driven by power that he sometimes lost sight of honesty. The newly released FBI interviews conducted in 1991 were part of a background check for an appointment to the President's Export Council during George H.W. Bush's administration. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

How to stay safe outdoors this Memorial weekend
5/23/12
Students make most of school’s Lenten service project
5/23/12
How to make a customized dry-erase board
5/23/12
Woman helps tornado victims with lost photos
5/23/12
A father, 11 mothers and 30 children? Oy vey!
5/22/12
> More lifestyle headlines

By PETE YOST, The Associated Press Updated 5:31 PM Thursday, February 9, 2012

WASHINGTON — FBI background interviews of some people who knew Apple co-founder Steve Jobs reveal a man driven by power and alienating some of the people who worked with him.

In the FBI documents released Thursday, many of those who knew Jobs praised him, speaking highly of Jobs' character and integrity and asserting that he always conducted his business dealings in a reputable manner. They recommended him for a post during the George H.W. Bush administration.

The 1991 interviews were part of a background check for an appointment to the President's Export Council.

The Commerce Department confirmed Thursday that Jobs did serve on the council during the first Bush administration.

Export council members serve in an unpaid capacity and meet at least twice a year, advising the president on trade policy.

One person told FBI agents the Apple co-founder's enormous power caused him to lose sight of honesty and integrity, leading him to distort the truth.

Another interview subject described Jobs to the FBI as a deceptive person — someone who was not totally forthright and honest and as having a tendency to distort reality in order to achieve his goals.

However, one former business associate who had a falling out with Jobs said that, while honest and trustworthy, Jobs nonetheless had questionable moral character.

The ex-business associate said he had not received stock that would have made him a wealthy man and that he felt bitter toward Jobs and felt alienated from him.

"Mr. Jobs alienated a lot of people at" Apple Computer Inc. "as a result of his ambition," an FBI agent wrote in an interview summary.

Two people associated with Jobs at Apple told the FBI that Jobs possessed integrity as long as he got his way. They did not elaborate, the FBI agent wrote.

Previously known parts of Jobs' life surfaced in the FBI interviews.

One person told the FBI that Jobs had a child out of wedlock and basically abandoned the mother and their daughter. The interview subject added that more recently Jobs had been supportive of them. Jobs publicly acknowledged his out-of-wedlock child.

Another interview subject told an agent that Jobs used illegal drugs, including marijuana and LSD, while in college. Jobs also publicly acknowledged drug use as a young adult.

___

February 09, 2012 10:27 PM EST

Share this article