FBI Drains Pond as Part Anthrax Probe (Assorted New and Semi-New Info from Brian Ross)

ABC News ^ | June 9, 2003 | Brian Ross

[John H K]

Was on ABC News tonight.

It's a new article (Brian Ross, not just the AP article info) but I'm actually a little hazy on what is new in it....

1) I believe it's new that Hatfill admitted taking Cipro at the time of the attacks (though Cipro was mentioned in the vague accusations of Nicholas Kristoff(sp?) at the NYT.)

2) I've never seen it mentioned he was in Florida before or during the attacks (a little odd they mention "when the letter was mailed" since the FL letter was never actually found.)

3) Has the box found in the pond been specifically mentioned as a "sweater box" before by actual sources that may actually have a connection with people who saw the box? (showed a pic of one, not THE box, that is clear plastic and had holes cut in the end. Looks NOTHING like a "minnow bucket" though, of course.

[lainie]

I hadn't heard points 1, 2, or 3 until now. I've been ignoring the pond-draining story because it sounds so preposterous and weird. That Cipro news really gives me pause.

[blackdog]

Why are they draining the pond? I mean a box divers found could easily be lifted up to the surface? They are looking for much more than a box. My guess is also to dredge the sediment in the muck bottom for other stuff. Anyone who has ever done a dive knows that the average public resivior/lake/pond has an entire junkyard at the bottom.

[Bogey78O]

This is just getting silly. Their investigation has hit a dead end and rather than backing up and seeking a new direction they're going wild trying to keep dead leads alive.

[marktwain]

Looks NOTHING like a "minnow bucket" though, of course.

You are right of course, it does not sound like a minnow bucket. It sounds like a part of a homemade "Minnow Trap". They are often made of clear plastic, and have holes at each end for the funnels, which are made of plastic or wire mesh, usually.

[muawiyah]

The local FOX news showed the "fibbies" and the USPS Inspection Service out draining a pond. The "newsie" noted that Hatfil admitted having been to the pond in question on a Boy Scout trip.

Remember that the "fibbies" claim their hounds found Hatfil's odor in the area. Remember that the USPS would like to wrap this thing up quick and not investigate leftwing groups that may continue to have a grudge against them, particularly some of the executive level people who dabbled in SDS, YPSL and anti-Viet Nam War demonstration groups 30 years ago.

Someone should be running this investigation who does not have a vested interest in any of the possible outcomes.

[cookcounty]

The last we heard from Brian Ross, he reported Special Forces were about to seize bin Laden in the "triangle."

I wonder how much he's hyping this.

[muawiyah]

It is common practice for medical research people to take Cipro regularly, particularly if there is a chance they may have come into contact with nasty bacteria carried along by co-workers from other locations.

Odds are some of the folks researching the anthrax case are, as we speak, taking Cipro!

[aristeides]

What's a plastic sweater box?

[Bogey78O]

You know for much cheaper than 250,000 the FBI can come dig me a pnd. I'd appreciate it a great deal. The benefit to the investigation will be about equal.

[marktwain]

Why are they draining the pond? I mean a box divers found could easily be lifted up to the surface? They are looking for much more than a box. My guess is also to dredge the sediment in the muck bottom for other stuff. Anyone who has ever done a dive knows that the average public resivior/lake/pond has an entire junkyard at the bottom.

I suspect that some high mucketymuck at the FBI has staked his career on Hatfields guilt, and he doesn't care how much taxpayer money he has to spend in desparate attempts to find something to tag him with.

There also seems to be a pretty strong current in the FBI to find a homegrown connection to terrorism. It would help a great deal in justifying there existance, not to mention their close ties with the ultraleftist Southern Policy Law Center.

[cookcounty]

How much "anthrax scent" can a dog tolerate before he dies? And how much of the stuff do they use to set him on the scent? Is the dog dead?

[Calpernia]

Ping

[fso301]

If you flood the box to send it to the bottom, where does the contaminated air go? UP!

Why not just have a tank of chlorine or ozone connected to the box to disinfect it after use ?

[Coleus]

Haven't they learned from Richard Jewel?

[Ditter]

I haven't paid much attention to Hatfield but the fact that he was taking Cipro sets off my Suspicious Meter.

[RLK]

It brings back memories. It's probably the pond I used to visit some 40+ years ago.

[muawiyah]

Or Clorox? Seems to be what the Iraqis used to disinfect those two mobile labs.

[blackdog]

The dog was on Cipro. Entirely possible that the canine was the anthrax mailer based on FBI profilers track record.