There are only 6 days left in June for Judge Hurley to issue a new ruling on whether or nor Maureen Stevens' lawsuit against the government can proceed.
What new stories will the FBI tell the judge this time to block the lawsuit? They are at an "urgently crucial phase" of the investigation? They are "close to a breakthrough"? They need to drain the Gulf Of Mexico because they found out Hatfill went on a cruise?
The excitement mounts!
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/04/29/judge_grants_6_month_stay_in_anthrax_suit/
Judge grants 6-month stay in anthrax suit
By Jill Barton, Associated Press Writer | April 29, 2004
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A judge delayed until June a lawsuit filed by the widow of a man killed by anthrax, siding with federal attorneys who argued the suit jeopardized the government's investigation into the 2001 attacks.
Justice Department attorneys told U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley they are at a crucial stage in the anthrax investigation, and that it's a matter of national security to delay the lawsuit.
In a January court filing, the attorneys said six months could allow them to isolate the kind of anthrax used in the attacks. They could not say whether a suspect would be arrested in that time.
Hurley wrote in Tuesday's ruling that the court recognizes the government's "compelling, paramount interest" in completing the investigation.
Robert Stevens, an editor for The Sun tabloid, is believed to have contracted anthrax from a tainted letter sent to the Boca Raton headquarters of American Media Inc. He died October 5, 2001, from inhalation anthrax, a rare and particularly lethal form of the disease.
Anthrax was also sent through the mail to media outlets in New York and a congressional building in Washington, killing four others and sickening more than a dozen people in several states.
Maureen Stevens is seeking more than $50 million in what is believed to be the first lawsuit aiming to hold the federal government accountable for producing and mishandling the deadly strain of anthrax that the lawsuit says killed her husband.
Her attorney, Richard Schuler, who could not be reached on Wednesday, previously called the government's request an elaborate tactic to stall the case.
I know this because Ed Lake, the "Fake Detective", told me so.
Of course the best question would be "What, you mean you just started to analyze the anthrax last November? Why did you wait 2 years?"
Of course that's embarassing, but then, the FBI was a bit victimized itself, being misled - and that whole "pure anthrax" wild goose chase matched to fit someone of Hatfill's capabilities.
I am pretty certain that the Science article shook up some trees, and changed some thinking.
I thought the government already had identified it as the Ames strain.
Near as I can tell from the sparse news coverage, the government's investigation is going nowhere on this case.