When reading Debrah Orin’s piece out today it is important to recall that the FBI operated in field offices, tied to their local US Attorney Offices. In the Clinton administration the lead FBI field office for Al Qaeda and Bin Laden was in NYC as a result of the WTC bombing in 1993, and the subsequent prosections. That made Mary Jo White and the FBI office in NYC the lead investigators in Al Qaeda. That also means they had plenty of information which never saw a courtroom from which to base their fears about the Gorelick ‘Wall’.

Sorry, I do not have time to dig through all these posts, but I am thinking the reference I need is in Update X. But it is clearly stated in the 9-11 report this is the case. So when US Attorney White was concerned about the impact on our ability to ID and stop AQ – she was in a singular place to be the most important voice to be heard. Above Bergler, Clarke and Gorelick.