Gary Aldrich

Gary Warren Aldrich is a former FBI special agent who served for 26 years, primarily investigating white-collar crime. He spent the latter part of his career in the White House during the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations, providing background clearances to staff. Aldrich retired from the FBI in 1994 and authored the book *Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House* in 1996, which criticized the Clinton administration for dismantling security protocols that had been in place for six presidencies. This allowed individuals with questionable backgrounds to access sensitive areas.

The book was controversial, with Aldrich acknowledging that some events described were second- or third-hand and lacked corroborating evidence. Clinton White House officials disputed the book's accuracy, calling it filled with untrue information. The FBI's general counsel, Howard Shapiro, shared the manuscript with the Clinton administration during the review process, which Aldrich interpreted as a political move to prepare a public response. *The New York Times* noted that the book resembled "raw" FBI reports, containing unevaluated information. Aldrich faced an FBI investigation for publishing the book without authorization but was cleared of charges in 1997.

In 1997, Aldrich founded the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, a nonprofit organization. He has contributed opinion columns to Townhall.com and made appearances on C-SPAN.