Never Silenced
A conversation about the life and work of Barbara Olson.

By Kathryn Jean Lopez, NRO Executive Editor
November 8, 2001 8:40 a.m.

arbara Olson, a friend and contributor to National Review and NRO was one of the thousands murdered on Sept. 11. In spite of her death, Regnery publishing has released her book, Final Days: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House, which was originally set to hit book shelves only days after Sept. 11. Final Days, like her first book, Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton, is already a bestseller. NRO talked with Barbara's longtime friend and colleague Barbara Comstock, who is currently director of research and strategic planning at the Republican National Committee, about Barbara Olson's life and her book.

For more on Final Days or on Barbara Olson, see Noemie Emery's review, and appreciations by Lucianne Goldberg, Michael Ledeen, and NR's editors.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: When did you first get to know Barbara Olson?

Barbara Comstock: We first met through our mutual friend, Ginni Thomas, who brought Barbara to a breakfast in early 1995 with a group of women who were working on congressional investigations. At the time Barbara was working as deputy counsel and solicitor to the House of Representatives. Ginni thought Barbara should be working on the investigative matters given her U.S. attorney background and we all agreed. Shortly thereafter she joined the Committee on Government Reform (then chaired by Rep. Bill Clinger) as chief investigative counsel and I was her chief deputy counsel where we worked together on the Travelgate and Filegate investigations. She then moved over to the Senate side as general counsel to Senate Majority Whip Don Nickles where our work continued to overlap with the campaign-finance investigation, as well as impeachment. We also worked together on the Florida recount last year and Ted Olson's solicitor-general nomination at the Justice Department this year — a mutual favorite project of Barbara's and mine.

The great thing about Barbara was that she worked hard, but she played hard too and our work life spilled over into lots of fun social get-togethers. Along the way, we gathered many shared "combat" stories and girlfriend moments, a couple of our favorites being that the president's lawyer, Bob Bennett, dubbed us "The Barbarellas" and we survived the Florida recount!

Lopez: After Barbara's murder, were you concerned Final Days might not work?

Comstock: It was never an issue. Barbara completed the book prior to September 11 and it was set to go to the publisher on September 13. The publisher spoke with Ted Olson, and Ted in turn spoke with family and friends about whether to go forward and the decision was unanimous. Ted said it best when he said, "For me to tell Barbara that her voice would be silenced because she was murdered by terrorists — I couldn't have lived with myself, and Barbara could not have tolerated that." Ted also has pointed out that Barbara believed that it was the duty of citizens to speak out, and those of us who loved Barbara believed that it would be a betrayal of her values and her beliefs if we didn't allow her final work to go forward. She felt she owed her fellow citizens the benefits of her insights on wrongdoing at the highest levels of government.

In discussing the book on television and radio, I have found that people who would have agreed with Barbara, as well as those who probably wouldn't have agreed with much of anything she wrote, both understand that now would have been the worst possible time to silence Barbara's voice or cut her off from the people to whom she wished to speak and who were awaiting her voice.

Lopez: How do you explain the amazing book sales? People don't want to read about the Clintons necessarily; or do they?

Comstock: Barbara had a large following of people who enjoyed her analysis and respected her views. This book is in many ways a sequel to her first bestseller, Hell to Pay, and her readers wanted to continue to enjoy her wit and wisdom. Barbara spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list with her first book, when many people did not even know who she was. With this latest book, Barbara was already a best-selling author, very well known to many more Americans, and someone dearly loved by the people she touched through her many spirited television appearances. Now she is also seen as one of the many heroes who kept her fighting spirit in the face of the most terrifying of circumstances. The people who "knew" her want to keep her in their hearts and homes, they want to reach out to her, they want to touch her, they do not want her to die. I think they may see her as a symbol of what the terrorists have tried to destroy and they want to fight back through Barbara and read what she had to say. I know her husband, Ted, and her family are very gratified by the response to her book, but I am not too surprised. And finally, and most importantly, it is a heck of a good book, a spirited and lively read, and tells a story that Barbara thought was important to be told.

Lopez: Is there anything in Final Days that surprises you?

Comstock: Since Barbara and I had worked on so many of these investigations together, I have to say, we probably had stopped being surprised! What Barbara does so well in the book is provide a catalogue of the "greatest hits." Her book points out that many of these last-minute frenzied actions really were just part of a bigger pattern that she detailed in both of her books. That being said, when you put the facts together, the accumulation is stunning and communicates Barbara's strong belief that those who hold public office should treat those offices with the respect and dignity they deserve.

Lopez: The most chilling line in Barbara's book, of course, is where she writes, "As many in his own cabinet had repeatedly stated, terrorism, both foreign and domestic, was the nation's primary security anxiety. Since the end of the Cold War, Soviet aggression had been replaced by a number of particularly venomous threats, from Timothy McVeigh to Osama bin Laden."

Comstock: This certainly was a painful part of the book to read. This excerpt is from the chapter of the book where Barbara strongly protests the pardons given to the FALN terrorists in 1999. Barbara points out that the FALN terrorists had been involved in a "reign of terror that included 130 bombing attacks in the United States from 1974 to 1983." These pardons were opposed by Janet Reno's Justice Department, the FBI, and the U.S. attorneys involved in the cases and of course the families of the victims who were killed and maimed in these attacks. I think this reflects the fact that Barbara's concerns and the issues she wrote about were connected to bigger issues which she clearly saw as having the potential to profoundly affect our lives.

Lopez: What is the Barbara Olson Memorial Scholarship Fund and how can people who are interested find out more or contribute?

Comstock: An endowed memorial scholarship fund is being established at the Cardozo Law School in New York that will help women, who exemplify Barbara's ideals and vision, attend law school. Contributions may be made out to:

Cardozo Law School — Barbara Olson Scholarship Fund
Attn: Office of Development
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
55 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003.

At Cardozo, Barbara was chapter president of the Federalist Society which also has set up a lecture series in Barbara's name. In addition, the Landmark Legal Foundation has established a legal chair in Barbara's name.

Lopez: Barbara didn't think this way, but if you had asked her what she wanted her "legacy" to be, in terms of contributions to American politics, what do you think she might have said?

Comstock: Barbara, indeed, did not think about her "legacy." She was too young, too much in love with life, too much engaged in the people around her and the things she was doing to ever think about her legacy. The people who think about legacies usually have lousy legacies and don't enjoy their lives the way Barbara did. Had she thought about it, I think she may have talked about her conviction that life was for living — living boldly and bravely; not shrinking from challenges, but embracing and relishing them. Barbara died as she lived; being involved, trying to right wrongs. When she called to ask her husband, Ted, "What should I tell the pilot," Barbara wasn't being a spectator, she was in action mode. She believed that we could do practically anything if we set our sights high and put our minds to it. Barbara was nowhere near the top of her career; on a professional and personal level she had so much more yet to offer her family, friends, and country.

Lopez: What do you want her to be remembered for?

Comstock: There are so many things. One of the headlines following Barbara's memorial service read, "Friends, family remember Barbara Olson as a patriot." Her brother, David Bracher, said it well: "Barbara was patriotic before patriotism was cool." She really did wear her patriotism on her sleeve and must be so proud of how our country has responded to this tragedy and how her husband, Ted, has continued to serve this country through his important position. Barbara was always engaged; always in action mode.

Her good friend, Ginni Thomas, challenged us all at a recent luncheon in Barbara's honor where Ginni said, "Now we must think, what would Barbara do in this situation?" I think a lot of us are doing that with Barbara and the other heroes and loved ones who have given us so much hope and courage. I know that so many of the other families and friends of victims are remembering their loved ones in so many special ways too — we are blessed to be a nation with so many heroes!

Another article written about Barbara was entitled, "Life of the Party." That really captured her too. When she left the room, she took a lot of oxygen with her. We're all shorter of breath for her loss and all of the thousands of other victims.

There are so many other things that I know will come to mind in the weeks and months ahead, but Barbara also will be remembered for being fabulous, fun, fearless and now, most unfortunately, forever young.