Tables Turned In Anthrax Investigation

(CBS) They followed him. They brought bloodhounds into his home. The attorney general identified him to the world as a "person of interest" in the first major bioterrorism attack in the nation's history.

But five years after letters sent through the U.S. mail containing anthrax killed five and injured 17, the FBI has yet to charge Dr. Steven Hatfill. In 2003, he sued the government.

The resulting depositions of FBI personnel and law enforcement records obtained by 60 Minutes provide an inside look into one of the FBI's biggest investigations ever and raise the possibility that the bureau may have a cold case on its hands.

Correspondent Lesley Stahl's report, which contains revelations from those depositions, will be broadcast this Sunday, March 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Hatfill, a scientist who worked at an Army laboratory where the strain of anthrax used in the attacks was stored, is the only "person of interest" named publicly in the case. He has maintained his innocence all along.

Hatfill is suing the government for destroying his reputation by, among other things, naming him "a person of interest." According to depositions taken for Hatfill's suit and obtained by 60 Minutes, the FBI official who oversaw the investigation says the bureau was looking at many more people.

"There were … 20 to 30 other people who were also likewise identified as 'persons of interest' in the investigation,' " the FBI's Richard Lambert says under oath.

60 Minutes has learned that today at least a dozen of those other people still have not been eliminated as so-called "persons of interest."

Hatfill charges in his suit that the FBI leaked information about him that was distorted and damaging. After the deadly mailings, evidence-sniffing bloodhounds reportedly "went crazy" at Hatfill's apartment, according to a Newsweek story.

60 Minutes has learned that the bloodhounds reacted similarly at the home and office of another scientist, too. And two of the dogs have been wrong on a number of occasions, including a serial rape case in which a man in California was arrested and jailed, based largely on the evidence from the dogs. He was ultimately exonerated with DNA evidence.

To quell the leaks, FBI Director Robert Mueller instituted a tactic known as "stovepiping," whereby the various squads assigned to the case stopped sharing information with one another.

In his deposition, the FBI's Lambert said he opposed Mueller's order because barring investigators from exchanging information "… would inhibit our ability to 'connect the dots' in a case of this magnitude …" just as it had leading up to 9/11.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, agrees that stovepiping undercut the investigation. He also charges that the FBI used the leaks to cover a lack of progress in the case.

"I believe … they wanted the public to believe that they … were making great progress in this case," he tells Stahl. "It's just turning out to be a cold case."

60 Minutes has also learned that the FBI's biggest hope to crack the case turned out to be a dead end created by one of its own investigators.

Early on in its investigation, the bureau was able to lift trace amounts of DNA from one of the envelopes used in the attacks. Agents hoped this forensic evidence would hold the key to solving the crime. But the amount of DNA recovered was so minute the bureau decided not to test it, fearing that doing so would use up the sample without yielding results.

The FBI then improved its DNA-testing technology so it could accurately test the microscopic sample. They then discovered that the DNA belonged to one of its own investigators who had contaminated the envelope.

Yeah, it was handed out like candy, and some who managed to miss out on it went crying to the press. Like I said, you don't know how the postal system works ~

LOL!!! No, it was not, and you obviously do not read a thing posted to you. Over 7000 in NY were OFFERED, you said they were given it and tried to come off as if 10's of thousands had to take it, that is clearly not what happened. Enjoy the color of sky where ever you're at.

To remind everybody of something really obvious, in most of the world the "tabloid format" is the most popular structure for daily or weekly newspapers.

This particular stable (National Enquirer, Star, etc.) is written to about an 8th grade level ~ that's so they can maximize their audience ~ that brings in foreigners with limited understanding of English.

Now, if you were an AlQaida terrorist and you wanted to find out what the most important newspaper in America might be you would....... what?

Maybe you would observe that National Enquirer is found at every cash register outlet at every grocery store in the country.

If you had limited understanding of the publishing industry ~ maybe extending no further than to having seen the local newspaper office in your home country printing it on site for example ~ you might well believe that if you attacked the headquarters with anthrax that all the newspapers coming out on Monday would be contaminated, and that all those people who read it while standing in line would die Tuesday, which would be 9/11.

The idea that the anthrax attackers went after what they thought was America's most important newspaper was arrived at by noticing that the only other newspaper attacked was ALSO in tabloid format.

The NYTimes, the Tribune group of papers, the Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, USNews, etc. were not targeted.

Hmmm ~ we had people die from anthrax in this area. The main facility in DC was put out of business. So many folks at Headquarters (where I worked) had been exposed directly (by visting the DC PO, or another contaminated facility, or Capitol Hill) you could get CIPRO simply by appearing awake and alert at 3 PM.

Just about everybody on Capitol Hill working for Congress had it available.

Things may have been different in New York ~ maybe someone was trying to balance the fire department's budget by holding back CIPRO.

One more time.

Who destroyed their collection of anthrax so that it would not be tested?

There is an eyewitness to the original theft who has been interviewed by the feds.

Witness says that a misdirected package contained what appeared to be seeds and was sent to a Pakistani at this institution where they destroyed the samples in 2001. The recipient of the package, her address, Pakistani name and she was not Pak, came down with as well as her husband, anthrax-like sores.
Package was sent three weeks after the murder of Rabbi Meir Kahane. According to Steve Emerson, this was the shot heard round the world.
The Pak with the transposable address was from the same town where Jose Padilla met with KSM. There was a Pak vet student from that town also there that semester.

Witness saw three Middle Eastern men huddled over a sink the same afternoon.

The feds know it was not Hatfill. They know BHR is a kook. It is involved with politics because of Musharreff.

Real parallel: the ones who stole it and the 9-11 hijackers. Not the same people, but like people.

Read interview with USDA lady who spoke with Atta who wanted money to buy a crop dusting airplane. He simply did not understand our culture. Tabloids are close to the check out counter. In Atta's mind that would give them prominence. We know it does not.

Senators targeted were making waves at the time of the addressing of the letters. People in the news must be important. We know different.

I figure they have about 9 pounds by now, that is if they had no disasters in the grow out.

Nine pounds times 454 grams per pound and one trillion spores per gram. well you can figure it out.

The good thing about anthrax is that not everyone exposed will get it. It is definitely not automatic. You have to have a break in the skin to get cutaneous, men's shaved faces, cuts etc. But aerosolized anthrax is very happy to make it's way to the lungs. Low dosages can cause infection. Where the cutaneous type takes a much higher number of spores.

Do NOT consume the mucus from your nose. Wonder why Mom was always on you not to put the boogers in your mouth.....anthrax caught in the mucoidal secretions is like a bug in a net....out of commission. Unless you swallow it. Then you get gastro-intestinal. No one has seen a case of that yet.

After the sample was stolen in 1990, who knows where it went? Could be black market, could be a relationship connection between the new husband of Rihab Taha, the Iraqi oil minister named Rashid, and the Pak that received it, also a Rashid. Probably not. They had eleven years to find each other.

"I understand the FBI's computer database which they decided
(Finally)to install shortly after 09/11/01 still is not in
operation."

I heard the same some months ago. It's a darn shame, but
at the time of the 9/11 attacks, the average public school
classroom computer system, had more cross referencing
ability than the Bureau's own agents had at their disposal.

The one item that really jumps out at me from this CBS News
article is the mention of the term STOVEPIPING. Apparently,
after the Hatfill debacle, Director Mueller became spooked
over the possibilities of more leaks. So he gave the orders
for different investigative squads to stop sharing their
information. This coupled with the SUPER PATRIOT theory,
which has undoubtedly been the bureaus main focus since
early in the investigation, may have cause much of the
stagnation we have seen in this case. Like putting
blinders on the agents as they walk through a maze.

When "60 Minutes" airs on Sunday night, it will be about
3 AM in Egypt. Well, maybe the perpetrator has a satellite
dish and Tivo....JJ61

Hence you make my argument for me and CHANGE your verbiage. 10's of thousands did NOT take CIPRO they were OFFERD IT. Exposure to the places where it was is not exposure to Anthrax. The spore has to be breathed in for the symptoms to develop, several DID die from this and that is not argued, what IS argued is the delivery method...it stunk, it will do very little for the effort, especially now with may mail, shipping and other such facilities having detections like the ones we have in the military.

Just about everybody on Capitol Hill working for Congress had it available.

And Dept, of state and DOJ and more...VERY FEW TOOK IT. You just can't seem to admit that.

Things may have been different in New York ~ maybe someone was trying to balance the fire department's budget by holding back CIPRO.

What an idiotic and vapid line, it smacks of sour grapes whining. As for the money, I would not know, I simply fought fires and answered to on scene calls when called, that was between deployments in the military.

Anywhere anyone might have worked in the USPS (28,000 different buildings) had a risk of being infected with anthrax carried to the site in previously contaminated equipment.

Every person in the United States had a smaller chance of being exposed in that manner but one elderly lady in Connecticut died due to cross-contamination.

I knew many people who'd done nothing but visit a building that had a small amount of contamination and they elected to take CIPRO for many months.

The question was whether or not the CIPRO was handed out like candy ~ not if folks actually took the stuff. Many walked off with it to use later if necessary.

I certainly would not have waited for symptoms to appear if I'd thought I'd been in contact with contaminated equipment. I knew where to pick it up at work, and with no questions asked.

As far as you needing more personal information in regard to CIPRO use, I don't know anyone who admitted to using it as a suppository.

Does that satisfy your curiosity?

Sorry, didn't mean to OFFEND you, Just my opinion!!!! I still think it was part of the over all attack, the over all plan was supposed to be much worse..Again, just my opinion, please don't post another link to your Analyzing the Anthrax Attacks book selling sight..I read through some of the stuff, especially the Did AQ do it? Once you started quoiting the nyt, wp ect.....Thats where I stopped reading and put you in the moonbat camp or camp conspiracy as you call it.....Later 3IDVET

It's worth noting that the Washington Post published a considerable amount of information during the early phases of the investigation that's available nowhere else.

Now, at this late date, you have to pay to get that info. Some of it is little more than raw FBI reports, the very stuff which became impossible to get once the investigation was "stovepiped".

Many of us who work the anthrax threads began to feel that someone inside the FBI at a high position was suppressing the investigation. Turned out that was true ~ FBI Director Robert Mueller was the bad actor. His actions set the anthrax investigation back years.

You are being cajoled with humor to lighten up.

Also, you sound like you want some personal testimonials to the way CIPRO acts on the human system.

Just to let you know I do know people who had their teeth loosened by CIPRO ~ they used it because they were exposed to heavy concentrations of anthrax.

I know far more than you give me credit for. I testified to Congress on the entire Anthrax Vaccine (Biothrax) issue. I have been involved in the issue ever since the forced innoculations to all of us in the military by the Clinton Administration (Cohen and Caldera). I know the delivery methods, causal factors, how the lethal factor in the vaccine is supposed to work but does not, how the advent of combined use with CIPRO came about and why and most of all I know a lot about how delivery via mail method is one of the poorest to consider. Now we just have a lot of people in the military who are sick or worse and no one immune to Anthrax.

Its not that did not actually work on murdering some people and yes it could have done more, but it is a demonstration of a failed method to do the mass scale murder terrorist want. Had it been successful to a much greater degree than demonstrated it would have been repeated.

It does not matter that you worked 30+ years in the postal service or that I have been in the military for 19+ years it is simply a matter of fact that it was an event demonstrating how not do try something like that.

The best thing about it is that we now have a lot more going for us in the detection of not only Anthrax but a great many other bio and chemical agents. We needed that long ago to protect both workers and citizen.

Many of the 9/11 attackers had New Jersey connections. Even the Blind Sheikh Fitzgerald supposedly convicted had his New Jersey connections.

So, you're saying that, even though they were in Florida at the time, the 9/11 hijackers put New Jersey return addresses on the envelopes, they mailed the anthrax letters in Florida before the 9/11 attacks, and by pure coincidence the letters didn't get postmarked in Florida but got shipped by a miraculous mistake to New Jersey where the media letters got into the mail system on 9/18, while somehow the senate letters sat around somewhere in New Jersey for three more weeks until they got into the mail system on 10/9?

Have I got that right?

This is a perfect example of something that cannot be proven "impossible" but is so wildly ridiculous that it totally defies belief by anyone with any intelligence.

Ed at www.anthraxinvestigation.com

It's worth noting that the Washington Post published a considerable amount of information during the early phases of the investigation that's available nowhere else.

Now, at this late date, you have to pay to get that info.

That's probably not true. I collected every article I could find about the anthrax attacks and put them on my site. Occasionally, I'd learn about one I'd missed and by looking up key words, I could usually find it somewhere on the Net and then add it to my site.

Ed at www.anthraxinvestigation.com

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