Coleen Rowley

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Coleen Rowley (born December 20, 1954) is a former FBI agent and whistleblower, and was a candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota in 2006. She lost the general election to Republican incumbent John Kline. [1]

[edit] Background

Mrs. Rowley was born into a military family. (See "Military brat"). Both her father and father-in-law served in the military; her brother retired in 2005 from the Air Force; her brother-in-law, a West-Point graduate, is retired from the Army; and her daughter is in her senior year of Naval ROTC.

She attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, graduating in 1977 with a degree in French. In 1980, she received her Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law and passed the Iowa Bar Exam. She is married and has four children.

Shortly after she became a Special Agent with the FBI. She was assigned to the Omaha, Nebraska and Jackson, Mississippi Divisions. Beginning in 1984, she spent six years working in the New York Office on investigations involving organized crime. She also served in the U.S. embassy in Paris, and the consulate in Montreal. In 1990, she was assigned to the FBI's Minneapolis office where she became the chief legal adviser to the office.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Rowley wrote a paper for FBI Director Robert Mueller documenting how FBI HQ personnel in Washington, D.C., had mishandled and failed to take action on information provided by the Minneapolis, Minnesota Field Office regarding its investigation of suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. This individual had been suspected of being involved in preparations for a suicide-hijacking similar to the December, 1994, "Eiffel Tower" hijacking of Air France 8969. Failures identified by Rowley may have left the US vulnerable to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Rowley testified in front of the senate and for the 9/11 Commission about the FBI's internal organization and mishandling of information related to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Director Mueller and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) pushed hard and got a major reorganization, focused on creation of the new Office of Intelligence at the FBI. This reorganization was supported with a vast expansion to FBI personnel with counterterrorism and language skills.

Rowley retired from the FBI in 2004 after 24 years with the agency.

Mrs. Rowley jointly held the TIME "Person of the Year" award in 2002 with two other women credited as whistleblowers: Sherron Watkins from Enron and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom.

[edit] Political career

In May 2005, Rowley announced that she was considering running against incumbent Representative John Kline for Minnesota's 2nd District seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2006. At the time of her announcement, she had been living in Apple Valley, Minnesota for 15 years. On June 27, 2005, Rowley announced that she was entering the race as a DFLer, and officially kicked off her campaign at her home on July 6.

On August 18, 2005 she attended a vigil in Crawford, TX outside President George W. Bush's ranch requesting that the president meet with Cindy Sheehan to answer Sheehan's questions regarding the War in Iraq and the death of Sheehan's son.

On January 3, 2006, a professionally retouched image appeared without authorization on the Rowley campaign website. This image depicts Kline as Colonel Klink from Hogan's Heroes. Representative Kline objected to the photo. The campaign removed the image the same day and initiated an investigation. The Kline campaign also accused a Rowley supporter, David Bailey, of attempting to make a cash contribution to Kline’s campaign. Cash is not legal for federal election contributions. Kline subsequently asserted that this constituted an effort to infiltrate his campaign apparatus.

Representative John Murtha (D-PA) endorses Rowley. He visited the district during the campaign and held a rally for Rowley with veterans at the local VFW. The Rowley campaign subsequently focused efforts on veterans' groups and others with experience that relates directly to the war in Iraq. By the middle of October Rowley had hundreds of veterans volunteering for her campaign and supporting her.

Support for Rowley from 9/11 survivors and family was a factor in this house race. These supporters followed her testimony during Congressional hearings and then before the 9/11 Commission. Mrs. Rowley's report regarding FBI disorganization was viewed as her greatest contribution.

Her opponent retained his seat in Minnesota's 2nd District.