In the ATF, I had considerable contact with the FBI in Philadelphia. While I respected many of their agents, I was glad that I had taken my friend's advice. Over the years, I have had contacts with FBI agents in many contexts in several cities. The point is that although I think " Unlimited Access" is an important book, and from what I can tell Gary Aldrich is a fine man with honorable intentions, I am no apologist for, nor a cheerleader for the FBI.
In 1983 I wrote a novel under a pen name ( Serpent on the Hill by Philip Eliot) whose premise was that a Russian agent infiltrated our country, became a citizen, and eventually got elected to the U.S. Senate - and finally ran for President! The underlying theme was that those who run for public office, including for the President of the United States, are not subjected to any official form of background investigation.
The quote from Senator Jesse Helms on my dust jacket reads:
Serpent on the Hill is for every American who's concerned about our National security - and for every American who isn't.
The quote from former Texas Congressman Alan Steelman was simply:
Shockingly plausible!
William Colby, the former CIA Director who died recently, also gave me a quote for the dust jacket.
Much of "Unlimited Access" is about the deplorable state of security in the White House. On page 169, Mr Aldrich writes:
The only people at the White House not required to have extensive background investigations conducted by the FBI are the president and vice president and their immediate families, and yet, perhaps under certain circumstances, they are the ones who need a proper vetting most of all.
Given Bill and Hillary's left-leaning tendencies, their Communist and Socialist friends, Bill's anti-government protests during the Vietnam War, and his still unexplained visit to Moscow, I get a queasy feeling in my stomach when I let my imagination - and my reason - take all this to its logical conclusion. Had Bill Clinton been running for president when my book, Serpent on the Hill, came out, the furor would have been monumental.
Yes, the Cold War is over. But, the United States is still the target of espionage from all sides, even from its so-called friends. Gary Aldrich has exposed a horrendous lack of concern for national security in the White House. Just as importantly, he has documented the arrogance of power that is exhibited by the Clinton Administration.
One thing "Unlimited Access" lacks is any serious suggestion about how to cure the obvious security lapses at the White House. Mr. Aldrich notes (page 72) that President Eisenhower had issued an Executive Order requiring background investigations (for those in the White House) and set forth minimum standards for employee suitability. To this day, the whole concept of investigations of White House potential employees appears to rest solely upon an Executive Order signed by the president. As Gary Aldrich points out, the investigations can be anything the president wants them to be, including totally ignoring the results.
The Congress must consider legislation to require FBI background investigations of all prospective and current employees of the White House, etc., and some minimum criteria for suitability. For example, one would think that current illegal drug use should disqualify an applicant (not so in the Clinton Administration). Not only do drugs alter a person's judgment, but they are an expensive habit. Given the modest salaries of most of the staffers in the White House, it is no great leap to see someone hooked on drugs selling national secrets to the highest bidder. One need not pass on military secrets to do damage. Even the exposure of a trade-talk game-plan, for example, could do irreparable harm.
If there is derogatory information on an applicant, the decision to hire needs to be taken out of the hands of the White House. Otherwise, the whole process is a sham - as it is now. In cases where the FBI develops serious derogatory information, there perhaps should be a bipartisan panel of maybe about 11 people (not in government service or who have any substantial business dealings with the government) who could rule on the case. Whatever the mechanism, the decision to hire or reject someone with a derogatory background check should be taken away from the White House!
The case of De De Myers, the press secretary, was typical. For most of the time she was at the White House, she had a temporary badge. She just never seemed to get around to filling out the papers for the background investigation. Her case showed not only how ludicrous and transparent was the stonewalling of the investigations and the lack of cooperation with Gary and his partner, but it showed the arrogance of those in the White House.
Gary reports that one day De De was besieged by the press and that she stomped out of the press room cursing "Eat shit and die!" If one takes a look at the CNBC show "Equal Time" with Mary Matalin and De De Myers, you can see the arrogance of De De firsthand. Here is a young lady who is not too many years out of puberty, who preaches and lectures to people like she is some sort of political sage and prophet. Pardon me. She was not even an effective press secretary. Political pundit? I think not.
The purge of the Travel Office and the assault on Billy Dale's character are well covered.
Anyone who has spent time in Federal investigative or national-security work cannot conceive of Craig Livingstone being put in charge of security at the White House. Whoever hired him did a massive disservice to this country. Yet, we find nobody willing to admit that they hired him! Incredible. A disgrace. Pathetic. Gary Aldrich documents well the saga of Craig Livingstone.
The book is flawed in several respects and should have been edited more tightly. Gary spends a lot of time voicing his disgust for the hippie, counter-culture types who inhabit the Clinton White House. A simple statement here and there would have gotten the point across without poisoning the book. Many critics say the book is the product of a bitter man. Yes, Gary Aldrich was sickened by what and who he saw in the White House. I can relate to that. I would have had the same reaction. But, by being effusive in his contempt, and often petty, Gary undermines his impartiality as one who is "just reporting the facts."
On page 13, he talks about staffers hitting the elevator like "animals at feeding time." On page 19, he characterizes Zoe Baird and her husband as " two rich yuppies screwing over two ignorant illegal aliens" (the household help). On page 41 he goes to great lengths to picture the mess in George Stephanopolous' office, including a 10-day-old birthday cake. Talking about George's hair (page 42) Gary says that "He must have spent hours each morning in front of a mirror with a brush, a hair dryer, and hair spray ..." Hours each morning? Give it a rest, Gary. On and on he took petty shots at those he obviously detested. Too bad. A good editor would have toned down all that.
Also, Gary spends a good bit of time complaining about how his supervisors failed to heed his complaints about lax security at the White House. All they seemed to care about, he thought, was completing investigations on time. While there is some merit in pointing out the apparent lack of concern for White House security at higher levels in the FBI, Gary again poisoned his case by making too many personal attacks. All this should and could have been smoothed out by a good editor.
One thing about Gary jumped out at me, time after time. He often made references to his job being in jeopardy, if he said this or that, if he stood up to those in the White House while trying to do his job, etc.. I admire Gary Aldrich - the man. But, he showed the constrained FBI agent side of himself several times. That is, he was concerned that if he stood up to anyone in the White House, or if someone thought he was the source of leaks, he would lose his job. Over and over he says things like "This might be my last day at the White House" (page 115). Part of this can be attributed to the fear the Administration, particularly Hillary Clinton, engendered in the permanent staff .
Many of Gary's fears for his job were misplaced. At one point, he asked to be transferred. His supervisors refused. Obviously, they thought he was doing a good job, perhaps a great job. All these references make me reflect back on my conversation in about 1957 with my neighbor, the FBI agent. He had told me that agents were too tightly controlled, that they were programmed on what they could and could not say, and so on. My friend gave me good advice to avoid applying to the Bureau. I have always worked on the basis that I was more important to my employers, in and out of government, than they were to me. I probably would not have lasted one month at the FBI. At the least, I would have joined the cast of malcontents who were made Agent in Charge, Fargo, North Dakota, over the years.
Not to single out the FBI as to their propensity for not wanting to make waves. While working for ATF in Philadelphia, a senior agent explained the program to me. "Big cases, big problems. Small cases, small problems. No cases, no problems!" This man would sit at home and watch TV while I conducted surveillance of Mob members late into the night. He would sign the reports, as though we had been together on the street. I switched to the CIA. I must tell you, that in the work that I did for CIA, which was very "far out" and often dangerous, you could work as hard as you wanted and stand your ground without many repercussions. I had several bosses confide in me that they admired me in that I stood up to them when I thought I was right. The day will probably never come where the average ATF or FBI agent will have his boss take him to dinner and praise him for standing his ground - as happened to me. Pity.
One hardly needs to mention the "Clinton sneaks out to the Marriott at night" story. But I will. The inclusion of that unsubstantiated story is the fault of the book's editor and publisher. What a monumental blunder! There was plenty in the book that would make headlines and sell books, without reporting such titillating gossip about the president. Obviously, everyone who wants to discredit Gary Aldrich and the book have jumped on the Prez at the Marriott story. A search of the Web turned up much reporting on the book. Most of it had to do with the Marriott story. When the book goes into paperback, that idiotic bit ought to be expunged.
Gary goes to considerable lengths to paint an unflattering picture of Hillary Clinton. Again, one could say it was often petty. But I was glad for every single sentence about Hillary. It goes to her state-of-mind. That state of mind is one of arrogance, incredible arrogance. Gary says that she hates the Secret Service and tells her protective detail (page 90) to "stay the fuck away from me!" On page 88, he tells of a group who brought a health-care proposal for Hillary's consideration. He quotes her: "Gentlemen, I have looked at your proposal and it's pure bullshit! Now, you've had your meeting! Get out!" She yells at Bill Clinton and calls him an " asshole." These charming vignettes should be easy to confirm or deny, for anyone who cares to. It is no wonder she is said to have banned the Secret Service from the Residence (family living quarters). Too many eyes and ears who could leak stories or write books after retirement. Of course, if you have nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear.
(For reasons that I do not understand, unless it is the influence of the very straight-arrow, Gary Aldrich, profanity in the book -except hell- is never fully spelled out. Shit is sh_t and so on.)
Gary goes off on a few tangents, like talking about how crude L.B.J. was. He tells the story about L.B.J. inadvertently peeing on the leg of a Secret Service agent, due to the wind carrying the stream. That rings true for me. A retired Secret Service agent friend of mine was on the L.B.J. detail. At the ranch one night, he was sitting in the dark on a chair on the porch. L.B.J. came out and urinated off the edge of the porch (not uncommon in the country). My friend said that L.B.J. nearly got him with the stream - and he pointed it out the president. He drove L.B.J. around the ranch in the Lincoln convertible that became so famous. He said that L.B.J. would hit him in the back of the head with a rolled-up newspaper shouting "Faster, boy! Faster!"
Carl Rowan once told me a story as we were both passengers on an airline flight from Europe. It was just before Valentines Day in 1969 or 1970. I remember the time frame, because we talked briefly about Valentines Day cards. We chatted about both of us being University of Minnesota grads. Carl said that he once was with L.B.J. at the White House waiting for an African head of state to meet with the president. I think Carl was head of U.S.I.A. at the time. The man was late. Finally, Carl told me, president Johnson grabbed Carl (a black man as I trust everyone knows) by the lapels and said, "Carl, where is that fucking nigger!" I mention these incidents to help lend some credence to any warts that Gary might ascribe to a public figure. They are just humans, and each is good for his share of unflattering anecdotes. One need not make these things up. There is enough real stuff to draw from.
A lot of things get repeated in the book. The story about Hillary sending a housekeeping staffer out late at night to get three tubes of Blistex is one of several examples.
The Epilogue is a mock investigative report, as though Gary had submitted a background report on Bill and Hillary Clinton before the election. While it makes some interesting points, it is often repetitious of earlier material. And Gary's utter contempt for the Clintons shows again for all to see. Once again, Gary's credibility as an impartial reporter of fact is damaged by his character assassination of the Clintons. Much of this unique Epilogue should have been edited out or toned down. Make no mistake, I agree with the assessment of Gary Aldrich on the need for security, the caliber of the Clinton appointees, the character of the Clintons, and so on - 100 percent! However, if I had edited the book, I would have done a lot of things differently.
George Stephanopolous, among others, has tried to discount the book as fiction and called Gary Aldrich a pathological liar. At one point, George said: "I can prove 50 things in the book are untrue." I really look forward to that. We should all hold George to that statement. Let's see the list of 50 things and the proof that they are wrong. Maybe he has his decimal point one place to the right.
I stated in the article that former agents ought to be able to write whatever they wanted to write. If a writer used bad judgment and compromised or damaged national security, then he ought to be tried under the Espionage laws and sent to prison if found guilty. Instead, the CIA has resorted to prior restraint ( a no-no under the Constitution) and civil suits against the publisher and author to prevent profits. James Kilpatrick wrote a syndicated column about my plight and the danger to free expression inherent in the government's policies toward the writings of former agents.
The FBI is a apparently considering a civil suit in the case of "Unlimited Access." I don't see anything in Mr. Aldrich's book that compromises national security. He agreed to submit his book to ensure the "integrity of investigations," whatever that means. But, the FBI stonewalled him on the book, most likely because he said some things that were critical of the FBI. So, if the FBI sues, it is because they were portrayed in an unfavorable light in several places. Many of us can remember the great lengths J. Edgar Hoover went to in his masterful coverup of FBI faults and failures. God knows, in light of Ruby Ridge, Waco, and several other debacles, we need to shed all the light we can on our Federal investigative agencies.
Early on, I saw the traces of Hoover's campaign to keep the FBI's skirts clean, no pun intended. I was staying in a rooming house in Washington, D.C. while in training as an ATF agent. I visited a young female FBI clerk in her room one early evening. She kept the door open and told me that FBI rules also dictated that if she sat on the bed, she must keep one foot on the floor. She mentioned that she was told that if she had a car accident, she was to first call the FBI, so they could get an agent on the scene to make sure everything could be done to prevent the incident from reflecting poorly upon the Bureau. And so on.
Mr. Hoover never would investigate the Mafia. The understanding among others of us in the Federal service was that it was too tough a nut to crack and Hoover was simply not willing to risk the FBI's reputation. Then came one Bobby Kennedy, Attorney General. He forced all Federal investigative agencies to work together on cracking the Mafia. How well I remember FBI agents coming to our modest little ATF office in the basement of Two Penn Center Plaza in Philadelphia. They wanted to know who and what we knew about the Mob in Philly. Of course, we had been chasing them for years in connection with large-scale (tractor-trailer loads) production of moonshine, gun running, and our parent agency, the IRS, had been working on income-tax evasion cases.
Once they got a few years into their Mob investigations, the FBI did an outstanding job. They broke the back of most of the Mafia families in the United States. Too bad there had not been a Bobby Kennedy earlier to get the FBI into the role of investigating organized crime. America suffered a great deal by that long period of a hands-off policy by the FBI. How times change. Now we see the FBI taking over even bomb cases and pushing the ATF into the background. One of these days, the ATF may simply be absorbed into the Justice Department. If you think about it, the FBI has a right to be hacked off at the ATF. It was cases initiated by ATF that brought the FBI into the Ruby Ridge assault in Idaho and the Branch Davidian assault in Waco. How dearly the FBI must have wished they could have stayed out of those two disgraceful affairs.
A personal note:
I ask your understanding about references to my book, Serpent on the Hill, and to the censorship of it. I felt uncomfortable devoting so much space to it, but it is completely relevant. Incredibly relevant. And I am not hawking my book. It is out of print!
With all its faults, anyone who is concerned about our political institutions and our national security should read "Unlimited Access." If you filter out the extraneous and the petty, this is a very disturbing and important book.
Update: October 10, 1996
The evidence continues to mount that the White House and the Clinton Administration have politicized the FBI and abused the public trust with improper uses of the FBI. Does anyone believe that all those requested FBI files on former White House employees and others was simply an administrative error? Get real!
Please read an interview of former FBI agent Dennis Sculimbrene, who worked with Gary Aldrich in the White House on FBI clearances for staffers. The interview is on page A6 of the Wall Street Journal for October 4, 1996. It shows clearly how the FBI (surely at the urging of the White House) put the screws to a longtime and dedicated FBI agent who refused to knuckle under to political pressure. Another disgusting chapter in the recent history of the FBI.
Also, in a column by R. Emmett Tyrrell, published in the October 13th edition of The Washington Times National Weekly Edition, there is a clue as to why the policy in the White House on drug use is so lax. Mr. Tyrrell, who has researched the Clintons in great depth, claims to have conducted interviews with people in Little Rock who knew of "heavy drug use" by Bill Clinton, including a possible overdose. He interviewed Jane Parks, who managed an apartment complex in Little Rock in the middle 1980's. Bill Clinton's half-brother Roger stayed in an apartment there in the summer of 1984. She tells of hearing Bill Clinton (through a thin partition in her adjoining office), enthuse over the high quality of cocaine he was apparently using. Since giving the interview, Mrs. Parks has been threatened. One phone call was by a man who said "You will be dead before the election." Mrs. Parks' husband, Jerry had earlier been shot dead in what was described as a "professional hit." The suggestion is made that it may have had to do with his activities in connection with his surveillance of the Roger Clinton apartment.
Further, Mr. Tyrrell states that Asharlene Wilson, a drug informant, testified before a Federal grand jury that she sold Roger Clinton drugs in 1979 and saw both Clintons "snort" cocaine. Yes, all defenders of the Clintons will point out that Ms. Wilson was an "informant," but that does not always mean that their testimony is self-serving. There are other damning statements in the article relating to alleged drug use by Bill Clinton. Although Mr. Tyrrell is editor-in-chief of the American Spectator, which is a Conservative publication known for its "attacks" on the Clintons, his research and interviews seem to be worthy of some credence on their mertits. Get a copy of the October 13th edition of the Washington Times National Weekly Edition (page 31) and make up your own mind.
Richard C. Rhodes
July 28, 1996
(Not the guy who wrote the Atomic Bomb book and others. He uses no middle initial.)