Posted on 05/25/2002 4:52:47 AM PDT by at bay
MINNEAPOLIS, Former colleagues described Coleen Rowley today as a conscientious and scrupulous agent who has often found herself in the middle of the biggest cases in the F.B.I.'s office here in her past role as spokeswoman and her current position as general counsel.
"She's a determined woman and a very vigorous advocate for what she believes to be the law," said Dag Sohlberg, a former agent who worked in the office for 26 years before retiring in 1998. "She is very detail-oriented and exacting."
Ms. Rowley, 46, a longtime agent who has spent the last 12 years of her career in Minneapolis, refused to comment today about the 13-page letter that she sent this week to a Congressional committee. In the letter, she criticized the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, and other top officials and accused them of hindering the pre-Sept. 11 investigation by the Minneapolis office into Zacarias Moussaoui.
Mr. Moussaoui, the sole person charged in the Sept. 11 attacks, is the man authorities say was meant to be the 20th hijacker. He was arrested here on Aug. 16 after arousing suspicions at a flight school where he was seeking advanced training even though he had no pilot's license.
Douglas J. Domin, who retired in August as special agent in charge of the Minneapolis office shortly before Mr. Moussaoui's arrest, described Ms. Rowley as a "crackerjack." Mr. Domin said that as general counsel Ms. Rowley was the principal legal adviser to the office and that she regularly advised him on many issues like personnel problems and legal questions about search warrants like the one in Mr. Moussaoui's case.
"Always her judgment was sound, reasonable and well thought out," said Mr. Domin, noting that she worked in the New York office before coming here.
Ms. Rowley would have reviewed and approved the request by field agents in August for a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to search Mr. Moussaoui's computer. Senior bureau officials in Washington rejected the request on the grounds that the Minneapolis office lacked sufficient evidence to meet the criteria for the warrant, a decision that Congress is now scrutinizing.
Ms. Rowley has sought the protection of federal whistle-blower laws, and her decision to challenge her superiors in Washington did not completely surprise her former supervisor. "I'm certain she feels overwhelming responsibility to report what she considers to be right or wrong," Mr. Domin said. "It puts her in a very difficult situation. The action she took demonstrates personal integrity and commitment that I think is noteworthy."
As general counsel, Ms. Rowley does not work on cases like field agents and was not involved in Mr. Moussaoui's arrest. Until recently, though, she also worked as a spokeswoman for the office and was immersed in cases like the 1999 arrest of Kathleen Ann Soliah, who changed her name to Sara Jane Olson. Ms. Olson, described as a member of the old Symbionese Liberation Army, spent two decades hiding in St. Paul from her role in the bombing of police cars in Los Angeles. Ms. Rowley was also involved in the case of Andrew Cunanan, whose nationwide killing spree included the murder of Gianni Versace, the fashion designer.
Mr. Domin said that Ms. Rowley had handled the press and counsel positions until he decided that it was too much work for one person.
Outside the office, Ms. Rowley cultivated a reputation as a diligent lawyer. "My experience with her is that she has a tremendous amount of personal integrity," said Bill Michael, a former assistant United States attorney here who worked with her on some cases. "The F.B.I. trusted her judgment on making legal decisions or they wouldn't have put her there."
Indeed, her job often immersed Ms. Rowley in many levels at the office. Mr. Sohlberg said she taught continuing education courses to agents to update them on changes in laws or to advise them on personnel policies and other issues. He said she reviewed applications for wiretaps and oversaw the paperwork involved in meeting their regulations.
Ms. Rowley earned a law degree from the University of Iowa in 1980. Before that, Mr. Sohlberg said, she ran cross country as an undergraduate student in Iowa and remains a dedicated runner.
Neighbors in her quiet cul-de-sac in a suburb south of the city said she often went running with her husband or their children. She has continued competing, recently finishing 30th out of 431 female runners in a five-kilometer race, with a time of 22:04, according to records on the Internet.
Mr. Domin noted that it was not uncommon for field offices to disagree with headquarters in Washington on issues and legal interpretations. He called the tension a "normal and natural back and forth," although he agreed that Ms. Rowley's complaint to Congress was well beyond that norm.
"She's without guile," Mr. Sohlberg said. "What you see is what you get."
Lou Gerstner for FBI Director. No more career bureaucrats!
I'm confused a bit here. Are you suggesting scrupleless or scruplous? She was without scruples or she had and she exercised scruples?
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If that were a goal, it would necessarily have begun with a condemnation of Ruby Ridge and Waco. Did anyone hear Bush say those words in his canpaign or his presidency?
Should is the operative word, there. In reality, whistleblowers are never protected, and never promoted. They are sent packing one way or another. (I speak from personal experience on this, having been one once.)
I can help but recall that Agent Potts - who is suspected of issuing the "shoot on sight" order at Ruby Ridge - was given a promotion rather than being fired.
Here's the info that should be HEADLINE NEWS all across the country!
Why did senior FBI officials reject this request after they arrested him on August 16?
Something is a seriously wrong here folks.
D
You're Right......Lets impeach him!
< /sarcasm>
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