FBI agent urges students to speak out

Americans have a right and responsibility to stand up and speak out, said former FBI agent Gary Aldrich. \nAldrich spoke before 100 people Tuesday night at the Kelley School of Business about his experiences working in the White House under the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. \n"I have a right to tell the American people what's going on in the Clinton White House, and let them decide," Aldrich said.\nAs an FBI agent under the first Bush administration and two years of Clinton's, Aldrich said he saw changes in the attitudes of White House security between the administrations. \n"The system worked so well that it became boring to be an FBI agent in the Bush White House," he said. \nHe said the "decent people" in the Bush administration made sure the FBI thoroughly screened people coming into the White House to make sure they were not a threat to national security.\n"It got really bad from a national security perspective" when Clinton took office, Aldrich said. "Our (FBI's) concern was about national security. No matter how many times we complained up the chain of command, we were told to hush."\nIn 1995, Aldrich said he was told to investigate a man to give him White House security clearance, and had less than five days to do it. When he told his boss he would need months, his boss gave the case to someone else, he said.\nIU College Republican Chairman Andrew Lauck said Aldrich's speech at IU was a mutual collaboration between the College Republicans and Aldrich's organization, The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty in Virginia. \n"I think he's a genuine man and had stories that hit home with a lot of people here," Lauck said. "His message was that we have a civic duty and a right (to dissent)."\nJunior and Democrat Ben Brodsky attended the speech and distributed fliers before the event that said "Impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for treason." Brodsky said he was initially asked by some students to leave, but said they were respectful once he explained he didn't intend to cause a disruption. \nAldrich published a book in 1996 called "Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House." He said when he went public with the book release, former Clinton Press Secretary George Stephanopoulos called him a "pathological liar" and Aldrich said the news media dropped his appearances after that. \nBut two years later, Aldrich said, several members of the media, including Tim Russert, called him on the phone and apologized for not investigating his claims more thoroughly.\n"When you do stand up for yourself on a matter of principle, you can win," Aldrich said. "Now, it's not painless. If you are right, and you know the truth, you have an obligation to stand up and tell it"