An FBI special agent says upper managers inside the agency stifled investigations into terrorist organizations that he says could have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks.

Agent Robert Wright told Fox News in an interview last night that "mismanagement" and "obstruction" at the agency's Chicago field office thwarted his attempts to investigate the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas, as well as Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network, both operating here in the United States.

Wright, who is represented by the Washington, D.C.-based legal group Judicial Watch told Fox News' Rita Cosby that between 1993 and 1994 he was responsible for tracking terrorist assets. He said even though he attempted to do his job, he received "very little support" from upper managers.

When asked why he believed Washington headquarters wasn't interested in tracking potential terrorists, Wright said he didn't know.

"No reason was given," he said.

"I tried to do the best I could," Wright said. "I would average four hours of overtime per day" on weekends, trying to keep track of the terrorist groups.

He said he was working "to try to prevent something from happening in the future," in terms of possible attacks that would take American lives.

But, he said, "there were actually efforts to prevent (the investigation) from moving forward," though he didn't name specific agents or managers.

The bureau "should have been conducting criminal investigations" with an eye towards arresting potential terrorists or, at a minimum, doing what could be done legally to get potential terrorists "out of the country."

Asked whether he was attempting to make money off of his research, Wright said he was only motivated by a desire "to save American lives."

"I'm not doing this for financial gain," he said.

At one point during his investigation, he said a Muslim co-worker refused to record the activities of a Muslim suspect.

The agent in question told him, "A Muslim doesn't record a Muslim," Wright said.

Asked if the Sept. 11 attacks could have been prevented, Wright was ambivalent. However, he said if FBI managers were more attentive, it was possible that at least a few of the attacks might have been detected.

Judicial Watch, headed by chief counsel Larry Klayman, developed a reputation for taking on cases involving alleged government fraud and abuse during the Clinton administration.

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