FBI whistleblower opts out of run for Congress

Coleen Rowley, the Minneapolis FBI agent who criticized the agency's anti-terrorism efforts prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, said this week that she is not likely to run for a seat in Congress.

Rowley told the Star Tribune Wednesday that she didn't think she would fit into the political scene, saying, "I don't have much salesmanship in me."

Democrats in Minnesota had tried to persuade Rowley to run against Republican Rep. John Kline, a retired Marine colonel who represents a district south of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

In October, Mike Erlandson, chairman of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party in Minnesota, said several activists were encouraging Rowley to run. "Obviously, we're excited about the prospect of her taking a serious look at the race," he told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Running for Congress would have required Rowley to retire from the FBI a year before she would be entitled to early retirement benefits, the newspaper reported.