Gary Aldrich doesn't keep quiet.
For 26 years, Aldrich served as an FBI agent under the Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations.
Aldrich became a prominent figure in the impeachment process of former President Bill Clinton and was one of the first agents to speak out.
More than 60 people filled the University Auditorium on Monday for his 45-minute speech. It was followed by a question-and-answer session, which was moderated by Accent Chairman Andrew Guglielmo.
The event was co-sponsored by Accent Speakers Bureau and the Florida Frontier, a UF student-run conservative newspaper.
Accent provided the venue and security, Guglielmo said.
The Florida Frontier and The Leadership Institute, a Virginia-based conservative non-profit organization, paid for Aldrich to speak. Because The Leadership Institute is a nonprofit, it declined to say how much Aldrich was being paid, said Bryan Griffin, editor-in-chief of the Florida Frontier and College Republicans chairman.
Griffin said Aldrich was invited to speak because he had seen Washington on a direct-contact basis.
Aldrich worked undercover on college campuses to profile the Black Panthers and other 1970s radical political groups like Weather Underground. During his speech, he spoke about the ongoing controversy with Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, former leaders of Weather Underground.
"Under what society do enough years go by to accept these people?" Aldrich said.
Aldrich was one of two agents who worked at the White House during the administration of George H.W. Bush administering background investigations on the staff.
"I wanted to know what drove these people, what their political ideologies were," he said. "I began to ask questions - what groups they were aligned with, if they paid their bills."
Aldrich, who wrote a 1996 book titled "Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House," said he was fascinated by the Clintons' unusual behavior.
"All I know is the political arena under the Clinton administration was a circus side-show," he said. "I had never seen behavior like this, maybe in the movie 'Animal House.'"
He spoke about college student groups and on-campus newspapers.
"As long as you align yourself with a group that is approved by a majority of student groups, the minute you get controversial, they are going to throw tacks in the road to flatten your tires," he said. "This is not free speech."
