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"Most U.S. attorneys are decent, hardworking people," says Cogdell. "But the few that have [withheld exculpatory evidence] have done so with regularity and impunity. And it's gotten more sophisticated now. Because now I believe FBI agents are aware that when prosecutors get held in contempt and cases are dismissed based on prosecutorial misconduct, there is a salutary effect that deters prosecutors from doing that. But that's not the end of the line…because now FBI agents deliberately withhold production of [that evidence] to the assistant U.S. attorneys. So even if you trust your prosecutor, he may absolutely be dealing with you in good faith, but [the evidence] has been withheld from him by the agent."

Cogdell points to the recent sting operation at Houston City Hall and the FBI's use of undercover informant Julio Molineiro, whose questionable behavior led the Drug Enforcement Agency to stop using him -- something Cogdell equates to "getting kicked out of Guns N' Roses. It's hard to get blackballed as an informant for the DEA."

Cogdell says information about the informant's controversial reputation should have been made available to defense attorneys. He doesn't believe, however, that the prosecutor was aware of the situation. "If an FBI agent wants to withhold production of favorable evidence from a [federal prosecutor] or from a defense attorney, there's no way I'll know that it exists," says Cogdell. "It's a document in their office. I can't get into their computer."

Greg Sears, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, did not respond to a request for an interview with the Press. However, one assistant U.S. attorney, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, somewhat agrees with Cogdell's assessment, saying that prosecutors are at the mercy of FBI agents when it comes to producing exculpatory evidence. The official line from the local FBI office is much less inflammatory, of course. According to Special Agent Robert Dogium, the bureau does its best to comply with any request for information from defense attorneys.

"Frankly, a defense attorney is never going to be happy that they've gotten everything they wanted," says Dogium, "and they shouldn't be. And I don't say that sarcastically. I mean, God love 'em. They want every doggone thing they can get. And I don't blame them."

The bureau, Dogium adds, feels no special need to defend itself with regard to the turning over of information beneficial to defense lawyers. Ironically, Dogium was one of the undercover agents involved in the City Hall sting. But perhaps Dogium should pay closer attention to the words of a former FBI agent deeply involved in the McVeigh investigation.

In 1995 Rick Ojeda was working as an agent with the bureau's field office in Durant, Oklahoma. In the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, Ojeda, along with all other agents in the state, was called into Oklahoma City to help with what would become the McVeigh investigation. This past May in an interview with 60 Minutes II, Ojeda accused the FBI of ignoring some of his reports that would have helped McVeigh's defense. Specifically, Ojeda says he worked a lead that implicated other suspects in the bombing.

"I never saw anything brought to light about that," says Ojeda. "It ends up that after I came public with it, that that lead was turned over…Lo and behold, they found it. And the funny thing about it is, I never mentioned in the 60 Minutes program what the lead was. But somehow the FBI figured out what lead it was, and they turned it over the next day."

Ojeda claims that he himself has been victimized by the FBI's refusal to turn over documents. He says he was fired from the bureau after allegedly conducting an unauthorized investigation against one of his bosses. In his termination hearing, Ojeda says, the agency never produced the complaints that had been filed against his superior, which were the motivating reason for his probe. Represented by DeGuerin, Ojeda, who now works as a private investigator in Austin, is suing the FBI for reinstatement.

Earlier this month, President George W. Bush nominated veteran federal prosecutor Robert S. Mueller to be the next FBI director. Ojeda believes whoever replaces Louis Freeh needs to rectify the problems in the agency, not just improve the bureau's tarnished image.

If Mueller is confirmed, not only will he face problems in his new job, but according to another former federal law enforcement officer, he also will leave behind old ones. Ronald Woods is a Houston criminal defense attorney who was part of the defense team for Terry Nichols. However, from 1990 to 1993, Woods served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas. During that time, Woods says, he emphasized the importance of conducting the most thorough investigations possible, and then letting the evidence determine whether prosecution was warranted. But these days, he says, there's an attitude among some federal prosecutors of obtaining convictions at all costs, evidence be damned.