[aristeides]

But the point is, after what happened in '95 and '96, there was plenty of reason to realize Al-Arian was radioactive, even if, for whatever reason, the first investigation against him was dropped. The things O'Reilly questioned him about were public knowledge, and had been for years. No one with any sense who knew the facts would have let the guy into the White House, and in 2001 there really was no excuse for not knowing sufficient facts.

[Torie]

I suspect by the time he got on the radar screen, to disinvite him would have been messy. It was a judgment call. Absent 9-11 this would have been a non event.