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CNN Live At Daybreak

FBI Whistle-blower Has Already Spoken With Others About Accusations

Aired June 06, 2002 - 05:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Even though we'll get to hear from FBI whistle-blower Colleen Rowley for the first time this afternoon, she's already spoken with others about her accusations.

Our Jonathan Karl reports.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: FBI whistle-blower Colleen Rowley dodged reporters after meeting with congressional investigators for the first time since delivering her explosive memo that accused FBI headquarters of thwarting the investigation into the so-called 20th hijacker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLEEN ROWLEY: Watch out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did the meetings go today, Colleen?

ROWLEY: I can't, I'm sorry. I can't comment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARL: Rowley will get a chance to publicly air her complaints about FBI headquarters at a public hearing tomorrow before the Senate Judiciary Committee, although she has told that committee that she cannot publicly speak about the specifics of the Moussaoui case, because it is a case that is still under investigation.

Meanwhile, the Senate Intelligence Committee continued its closed door meetings and the chairman of that committee said the committee is in possession of more information, more evidence of leads that were not followed that could have made a difference on September 11. He said there is now enough information to show that if all leads had been in the possession of one person or one group of individuals, the attacks on September 11 could have been avoided.

Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.

WHITFIELD: Now, Colleen Rowley is certainly taking on a load in criticizing her bosses. While her memo accuses FBI Director Robert Mueller of misleading Congress, it also accuses other top officials of the kind of bungling that may have saved lives last September. Rowley wrote the first draft of her memo in early May and spent about a week revising it. She hand delivered copies to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Rowley doubled as chief spokeswoman for the agency's Minneapolis office for seven years in the 1990s. She is the mother of four and is a competitive long distance runner. She has been with the agency 21 years and is just two and a half years away from retirement.

We'll, of course, have live coverage of today's Senate Judiciary hearings. FBI Director Robert Mueller's testimony is expected at about 9:30 Eastern this morning. And then you can see FBI Agent Colleen Rowley tell her side of the story this afternoon. She is set to speak at 1:30 Eastern, 10:30 Pacific, and we'll bring it to you live here on CNN.

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