Posted on 08/12/2002 12:02:56 PM PDT by mercy
FBI Said Not Ready to Clear Hatfill
By Laura Meckler Associated Press Writer Monday, August 12, 2002; 1:26 PM
ALEXANDRIA, Va. –– Investigators probing last fall's anthrax attacks have no physical evidence linking Dr. Steven J. Hatfill to the crime, but they are not prepared to clear him, a law enforcement official said Monday.
Hatfill, whose name surfaced more than a month ago but has not been declared a suspect, went on the offensive over the weekend, saying he has cooperated with the investigation only to see his life and work destroyed through speculation and innuendo. He emphatically declared that he had nothing to do with the attacks that killed five.
His attorney accused the FBI of leaking defamatory information about him and promised to lodge a formal complaint with the Justice Department.
A U.S. law enforcement official said Monday that Hatfill has been straight-forward answering questions from investigators but a number of intriguing items from his past make them unwilling to declare him cleared of any suspicion.
Investigators continue to be frustrated by the absence of physical clues linking anyone to the mailings, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The FBI has searched Hatfill's apartment in Frederick, Md., twice, as well as his car, a storage locker in Florida and the home of his girlfriend.
Among the reasons officials still remain interested in Hatfill:
–The anthrax letters contained a return address of a nonexistent Greendale School in New Jersey. Hatfill once lived in Harare, Zimbabwe, where there is a school known as Greendale School. That school is actually named for Courtney Selous, the namesake of the Selous Scouts, who fought for white rule in what was then called Rhodesia. Hatfill has said he fought with the Selous Scouts.
–On his computer, officials found the draft of a novel about a bioterrorism attack.
–In 1999, while working for a defense contractor, Hatfill commissioned a report looking at how anthrax might be sent through the mail. That report suggested there would be about 2.5 grams of anthrax in an envelope – and that's what was in last fall's mailings.
Law enforcement officials have described Hatfill, 48, as a "person of interest," not a criminal suspect, and said he is only one of about 30 people being scrutinized. Hatfill's name, however, is the only one to have emerged publicly in the investigation.
Since Hatfill's name surfaced, a variety of news stories have appeared questioning his record and his background, and TV cameras were on hand to document the Aug. 1 search of his apartment complex.
"I do not object to being considered a subject of interest by the authorities because of my knowledge and background in the field of biological warfare defense," Hatfill told reporters Sunday. "But I do object to an investigation characterized, as this one has been, by outrageous official statements, calculated leaks to the media, and causing a feeding frenzy operating to my great prejudice."
The high-profile defense continued Monday on NBC's "Today" show.
"Why would you want to single out someone for national attention if you do not have enough to charge them with a crime," spokesman Pat Clawson said.
Hatfill's attorney, Victor M. Glasberg, said Sunday he would file a complaint with the Office of Professional Responsibility at the Department of Justice.
"Material seized in what is surely the most important criminal investigation internally in this country in a long while is now being leaked," Glasberg said.
Speaking to reporters outside Glasberg's office, Hatfill fiercely denied having anything to do with last fall's attacks.
"I am a loyal American and I love my country," Hatfill said, speaking with determination and frequently pointing his finger in the air for emphasis. "I have had nothing to do in any way, shape or form with the mailing of these anthrax letters."
Hatfill, an American flag pin affixed to his lapel, said he had cooperated fully with authorities only to have defamatory information about him leaked to reporters.
Several questions have surfaced about Hatfill, including what appear to be exaggerations on his resume and his involvement in fighting for white rule in the former African colony of Rhodesia. Neither he nor Glasberg would answer questions about his past. But Hatfill did say that anyone's life can be "picked apart" for inconsistencies.
"I do not claim to have lived a perfect life," he said.
Hatfill emphasized that his background is in the study of viral diseases such as Ebola, not bacterial diseases such as anthrax.
He said he was routinely vaccinated against anthrax because of his work at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute at Fort Detrick, Md., once home to the U.S. biological warfare program and repository for the Ames strain of anthrax that was used in the attacks. But he said he had not been inoculated since 1999 and had been susceptible to anthrax since 2000.
It is unclear how much residual protection he would have had from his earlier vaccinations.
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Associated Press Ted Bridis contributed to this report.
© 2002 The Associated Press
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Whoever the government needs it to be. Iraqi operatives? Taliban operatives? Al-qaeda operatives? Right-wing paramilitaries angry at Leahy and Daschle for blocking Bush's judicial appointments?
Take your pick--the evidence is being manufactured as I type. However, I think the more likely scenario is a government exercise gone dreadfully wrong, like TWA 800. Otherwise, it would have already been offered as further justification for the War on [fill in the blank].
I follow the "Ashcroft et al know" but with a different scenario, and one I've seen others suggest here. It's highly possible IMHO that the U.S. Gov can link this to Iraq but doesn't want to tip Saddam that they know until the balloon is about to go up. If Saddam knew that the U.S. knew it would give him the perfect excuse in his mind to start causing major mischief now. Methinks there's a whole lot of evidence linking him to the events of last September but the government doesn't want to tip its hand just yet. Recall that one of the 9/11 hijackers supposedly visited a doctor in the time before the attacks and while the physician didn't pick up on it initially, after the fact (after the attacks) he came out and voiced his suspicion. After all, who was thinking of Anthrax back then?
I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of things that were "denied" immediately following 9/11 (like the Czech meeting with Attah) crop back up with "new" evidence. There's a big game of chess going on and Bush is writing the rules to suit the strategy. Smart, IMHO. Keeps things on our timetable, not Saddam's. Besides, the finger pointing at Iraq was so quick after 9/11 that I really think we know something that has been carefully shielded from the public's eye.
Just some thoughts...
Uhm, what are you talking about? A "readiness exercise" that involves mailing anthrax to people? huh?
Why would anybody ever stall a blackmailer?
Actually, it's a game of chicken.
So is the FBI also investigating Tom Clancy for his possible role in 9/11? Talk about circumstantial evidence concocted from thin air.
I agree, your scenerio is plausible. But why would the FBI fabricate a "suspect" at this point? It seems to me they could just stick with the "we haven't a clue" theory of the past nine months.
In a few days you'll see this in long-shot. Then you'll see that they didn't so much fabricate a suspect as shoot down a theory. Very publicly. This is shifting the scenery for what is going to happen next.
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