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Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001

Everyone aboard the airliner, hijacked to plunge it into the headquarters of the U.S. Defense Department, is believed dead.

According to reports, Mrs. Olson made two phone calls to her husband alerting him to the hijacking and asking for assistance. To her friends, this was the kind of gutsy behavior she was well known for.

She was a prominent figure in media circles, appearing frequently on television discussing the ethical issues that plagued the Clinton administration as well as those pertaining to the disappearance of Washington intern Chandra Levy.

She was author of "Hell to Pay," a best-selling critical biography of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and of "The Final Days: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House."

One of Mrs. Olson's closest friends, Barbara Ledeen, said she was "one of the dearest, most loyal people. Sunny, witty, wonderful; a brilliant wife and friend."

Mrs. Olson earned a B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in Houston and a J.D. from the Cardozo School of Law.

She also served in a number of significant positions in government, including assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, chief investigative counsel to the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and general counsel to Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., while he was the assistant majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

For several years, she had been a lobbyist and attorney in the Washington office of the Alabama law firm Balch and Bingham.

She is survived by her husband, stepchildren and grandchildren.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

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