I believe it to say that even with intimate knowledge of US law enforcement, they still had trouble getting answers and results... the rest of us are equally screwed.
While the article by its use of comparisons in that paragraph tries to suggest that (by imply that the CIA is a federal law enforcement agency and therefore, being former CIA analysts, the Hartes would have intimate knowledge of law enforcement), this is false because the CIA is not a law enforcement agency, it is a foreign intelligence agency, and to the extent that it coordinates with law enforcement, it is principally with federal agencies (mostly the FBI) whose law enforcement brief includes national security matters, and there is no indication in the article that this coordination was any part of the Hartes' work as CIA analysts.
I think the reporter here is either being willfully misleading to give the story greater emotional appeal, or has watched too many of the movies and TV shows in which the CIA is portrayed as having a role that is a mix of its own and that of the FBI, and mistaken them for reality.
The implication is rather that the Hartes are firmly part of the Establishment, and even the privileges bestowed by that membership couldn't help them.