During the Clinton administration , Townsend served in a series of positions at the Justice Department , eventually working as intelligence policy counsel for Attorney General Janet Reno . She served as Director of the Office of International Affairs in the Criminal Division from November 1995 until November 1997 , when she was appointed Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General . Townsend was appointed Counsel for Intelligence Policy in March 1998 , heading the office of Intelligence Policy and Review , whose various functions included approving intelligence-gathering activities related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act . Townsend managed the Justice Department 's Office of Intelligence Policy and Review until 2001 . She was one of Reno 's key advisers , acting as a " back channel " between the attorney general and FBI Special Agent John P. O'Neill , who was also her friend . The incoming Bush administration did not opt to keep Townsend on . Instead , she served as Assistant Commandant for Intelligence for the United States Coast Guard . While she was on maternity leave during the September 11 attacks in 2001 , Townsend assisted the Coast Guard in updating intelligence legislation to switch the branch 's priority from drug smuggling to the vulnerability of U.S. ports
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Frances Townsend