doing, it's a nonproblem. it's gathering of information and the way that journalists or scholars or others do, or it is intruding into the realm that should be reserved for government intelligence agencies. so, where that line is, is important. >> reporter: at the center? michael furlong, a defense department official. he oversaw the more than $20 million paid to at least three companies. a former military official directly familiar with the program says furlong told the contractors to gather information about the taliban and al qaeda. contractors were told the cia was failing to gather critical intelligence. furlong denies wrongdoing. documents provided to cnn detail sensitive information that contractors gathered. a meeting between afghan president, hamid karzai's brother, and mullah baridar, the number two in the taliban who was arrested a week later by the