Anthrax ... the ultimate whodunit

For years, the Justice Department has been haunted by the anthrax attacks.

A few weeks after the 9/11 terrorism attacks, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two Democratic U.S. senators, killing five people and infecting 17 others, mostly postal workers.

Biohazard investigators, like those pictured here entering the Dirksen Senate Office Building, became a regular sight in Washington. Congressional offices stopped accepting snail mail, and encouraged constituents to e-mail instead. And FBI investigators came under increasing heat for failing to solve the case.

Today's news that the Justice Department is settling with the former Army scientist named a "person of interest" in the case for $5.8 million raises this question: if Steven J. Hatfill didn't do it, who did?

Read more details on the case by The Times' David Willman here.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Kenneth Lambert / Associated Press

Comments

[MarkD]

proof that Republicans don't care about your civil rights or your tax dollars

[Almost Angeleno]

At this point, my bets are on the thugs within the Bush Administration -- with Cheney licking the envelope..

[saint peter II]

but the latest winding down of one of the sensational front page coups made by the homeland insecurity agency and their insecure pals. costs taxpayers a bundle to keep these bunglers in their armour plated suv's but i guess it's good enough for government work. i wonder who is getting the 10+ billion the 187000 homeland insecurity agents find it necessary to contract out? how many do we need to hire before they can do their job without all the hokey dokey that is part and parcel of the military/security contract work current here and abroad? and in the unlikely event that the muslim wars ever come to an end what are we going to do with all these private armies? i suspect these people who are making 200000 per year aren't going to be satisfied pushing big boxes around in the back of dusty warehouses? we can send them to college but i've been meeting some of my former college students/4 year grads stocking shelves at staples!!! don't look good does it?
www.saintpeterii.com

[seth elson]

Isnt it funny how the two democratic Senators were the two that voted against the Patriot Act? (also known as the enabling act in another point in history)

[J]

Dr. Phillip Zack originally obtained the anthrax from the lab in the 90's. He was seen on surveillance video. He left tracks behind of his activities and had reset a counter in a vain attempt to hide what he had done.

This anthrax was used post 9/11 in an attempt to frighten opponents of the original Patriot Act and gear up support for an attack against Iraq, which was supposed to have been linked to the anthrax.

Unfortunately, this anthrax had a very particular make-up which identified where it came from. Thus, blame was shifted to Hatfield; a totally innocent man.

[ALAN TRACY]

Ashcroft and underlings should forfeit any government retirement and be required to pay into a fund from which this settlement is made as the price for abbrogating their proper duties as officers in the federal court system and violating Dr. Hatfield's rights in persuit of a trumped up prosecution.
Some prison time for violating a public trust would not be remiss either.

[SRD-BCCM]

I always wondered what happened to Dr. Hatfil and was proud of him for standing his ground against a bunch of chronic underachievers, beginning with Attorney General John Ashcroft. This reminded me of the LANL scientist who was demonized during the Clinton Administration and Richard Jewel who found a bomb in a backpack and was accused of planting it there for attention. The poor guy was perplexed for being demonized just for doing a great job.

http://www.bccmeteorites.com/misconduct-planetary.html

SRD-BCCM

A new video was posted on YouTube 2 days ago discussing Hatfill, the leaks by the person in the US Attorney's office being briefed by the lead FBI investigator, Al Qaeda, anthrax etc. Ali Ali Timimi's lawyer says his client was an anthrax weapons suspect. He came to work at the building housing the DARPA-funded Center for Biodefense. His office was 15 feet from the leading anthrax scientist and the former deputy commander of USAMRIID (who came to be a prolific Ames researcher). The two in March 2001 had filed a patent for concentrating anthrax using silica dioxide. Ali was in touch with Bin Laden's sheik, his lawyer says, on September 16 and September 19, 2001. He and the sheik discussed, for example, support for Moussaoui's defense. Ali had a threatening letter in Bin Laden's sheik's name hand delivered to every member of Congress on the first anniversary of the anthrax letters. He was good friends and coordinated, his lawyer says, with the "911 imam" also from Falls Church who was discussed in the 911 Commission Report.

In a confirming report, FoxNews reported a month or two ago that the FBI had narrowed the suspects to four -- "a leading anthrax scientist," a "former deputy commander" of USAMRIID, a microbiologist, and possibly a fourth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-NGKm4xxC4

Many hundreds of articles and references in support, including correspondence to Ayman Zawahiri, is hyperlinked at
http://www.anthraxandalqaeda.com

A Zack theory, urged by the poster above, was always especially specious. All this time proponents assumed he was jewish (see google) when in fact he and his wife attended the Catholic church downtown and had two girls in parochial school.

[George Myers]

One unsolved death was that of Kathy Nguyen, a resident of the Bronx, NY and I think former Vietnamese citizen. There was no associated evidence near her, either in the workplace or at her home. The Washington Post published an excellent book on anthrax research, which in it they state that recently Conscientious Objectors to their drafted service (Selective Service lottery system was sponsored by a NY legislator) were awarded medals for their participation in anthrax exposure experiments conducted by the US Government. Another Washington Post reporter published articles on the use of an unapproved anthrax vaccine that was in some cases killing US military personnel, and arguably should never been used and in one or two cases, refused, leading to legal action against the objecting soldier. After the mailbox exposure, and I thought I heard while working in archaeology in the flood effects of the Raritan River in Bridgewater, NJ, where a Johnson and Johnson wound research facility was closed in an "envelope" scare while I was there, the radio media describe that something to the effect that the letter that arrived in Florida had the "seal of Solomon on it and a reference to the Castle Hill, Bronx, NY Hispanic entertainer, referred to as J.Lo (Jennifer Lopez). It may have been overlooked also that the former NY Mayor, Rudolf Giuliani's company was put in charge of the cleanup of the post offices I read. It's also more recently been disavowed that it was ever "weapons grade".

Which leaves me wondering how many people were killed or maimed today in Vietnam from unexploded cluster bombs? Banning them is not enough, we need ordnance clearing.

[Leslie Brundige]

WHODUNNIT???

The Ames strain of anthrax, created by the U.S. Army at Fort Detrick, Maryland, answered this question.

Please, some of us read, research, and are informed. Stop insulting us.