http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/amerithrax/ en-us Sat, 2 Jan 2010 01:03:46 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419263/posts Here’s some news I missed.Edward Jay Epstein reported on December 21 that the FBI’s anthrax case has fallen apart. In 2008 the FBI declared that Dr. Bruce Ivins, who died an apparent suicide in July 2008, was the perpetrator who sent anthrax-laced letters to members of Congress and others just days after the September 11 attacks. The FBI’s investigation, apparently the most lengthy it had ever conducted, was directed primarily at scientists who had access to anthrax materials. But, Epstein reports, it turns out that Dr. Ivins did not have access to the sophisticated form of anthrax used in September... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419263/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 01:03:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419264/posts The vast anthrax investigation, code-named Amerithrax, ended as far as the public knew on July 29 2008 with the death of Dr. Bruce Ivins, a microbiologist/wiki/Biodefense at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Maryland, at the nearby Frederick Memorial Hospital. The proximate cause of death was an overdose of the pain-killer Tylenol. No autopsy was performed, and there was no suicide note. Less than a week after his apparent suicide, the FBI declared Dr. Ivins to have been the sole perpetrator of the 2001 Anthrax attacks, and the person who mailed deadly anthrax... Jay Epstein's Weblog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419264/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 01:03:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2246417/posts A long-awaited review of the scientific evidence relating to the investigation of the 2001 anthrax letter attacks is finally getting off the ground. The study, to be conducted by the National Academies, will check the validity of the scientific techniques used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in solving the case. What the study will not do, as spelled out in the academies’ official description of the study, is issue a verdict on whether U.S. Army researcher Bruce Ivins was indeed guilty of the crime, as concluded by FBI officials. The FBI has been under pressure to disclose its full... sciencemag http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2246417/posts#comment Thu, 7 May 2009 21:43:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2193019/posts Investigators are trying to determine who sent a suspicious letter to a Boca Raton publishing company that was targeted in 2001 in a deadly anthrax attack. Friday the offices of American Media Inc., which publishes the National Inquirer, the Sun, Star magazine and other grocery store tabloids, were evacuated for about 45 minutes after a letter containing a white powder arrived at the company. Police were able to determine the powder was harmless. Sun photo editor Bob Stevens, 63, died in October 2001 was the first fatality from the anthrax attacks that killed four others and harmed 17 from Florida... cbs4.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2193019/posts#comment Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:52:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2152339/posts In February 1986, the scientist who FBI officials now say was behind the anthrax mailings that killed an Oxford woman and four others, applied for a U.S. copyright for a song about the death of New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. Bruce Ivins' application for "Christa's Song (Reach for the Stars)" was denied. According to authorities, Ivins committed suicide as he was about to be indicted in connection with the 2001 anthrax attacks. news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2152339/posts#comment Sun, 21 Dec 2008 20:57:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133721/posts A federal judge today ordered the Justice Department to release documents that explain why investigators suspected Steven J. Hatfill in the 2001 anthrax mailings. Hatfill has since been exonerated. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133721/posts#comment Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:34:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089653/posts Bruce E. Ivins, the Army scientist the FBI says is the sole culprit behind the 2001 anthrax-by-mail attacks that killed five people, apparently was barred from all government labs in March after spilling anthrax on himself and going home to wash his clothes before telling his bosses.... washingtonpostinvestigations http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089653/posts#comment Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:42:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081252/posts Rep. Roscoe Bartlett is ridiculing part of the FBI's explanation for the 2001 anthrax attacks. And the Maryland Republican says he's skeptical about the agency's conclusion that biodefense researcher Bruce Ivins grew the anthrax in his laboratory at Fort Detrick in Frederick and then mailed it to unsuspecting victims, five of whom died...... examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081252/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:13:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075690/posts The FBI's Investigation of Bruce Ivins and Its Conclusions Marilyn W. Thompson, Pulitzer Prize-winning Investigative Reporter and Editor for The Washington Post She talks of the "big remaining holes" in the case against Ivins. The scientific analysis led to a flask which was the parent of isolates accessible to a 100 plus known people. The press has filed a motion seeking to unseal the evidence filed in the case from the start. The first caller perhaps is Professor Frances Boyle (perhaps not but I strongly suspect it is), a local law professor there with definite political views and his own... Marilyn Thompson radio interview http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075690/posts#comment Sat, 6 Sep 2008 00:27:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2070538/posts When Norm Covert, a conservative former Fort Detrick public affairs officer, and attorney Barry Kissin, liberal activist opposing Detrick's biolab expansion, agree that Bruce Ivins was not the anthrax killer, either the world's spinning off its axis, or the truth is staring us so hard in the face we'd have to be blind to miss it. Covert's piece this week in thetentacle.com establishes what many in our community, including scientists and support staff at USAMRIID, past and present, know: Bruce Ivins had nothing to do with preparing or sending the anthrax letters. -- fredericknewspost. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2070538/posts#comment Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:25:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065992/posts When the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced it had cracked the long-unsolved anthrax case, the turning point cited by the bureau was its identification of a laboratory flask as the source of the anthrax. The dots, or in this case more than a thousand separate anthrax samples, were connected with the help of a group of scientists working secretly for some seven years. They succeeded by using a combination of new techniques not even invented in late 2001 when the anthrax-laced letters were sent, and that most old-fashioned attribute of expert scientists and detectives: a trained eye. Now, in their... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065992/posts#comment Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:10:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061486/posts Wednesday the Senate Judiciary Committee announced it would call FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to appear at an oversight hearing Sept. 17, when he is likely to be asked about the strength of the government's case against Ivins. A spokeswoman for Sen. Charles Grassley, R- Iowa, a vocal FBI critic, said he would demand more information about how authorities narrowed their search. The House Judiciary panel, meanwhile, is negotiating to host a separate oversight hearing in September with bureau officials, in a session that could mark the first public occasion where Mueller faces questions about the FBI's handling of... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061486/posts#comment Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:38:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062109/posts WASHINGTON -- As federal authorities pursued the wrong suspect in the deadly anthrax mailings of 2001, they ignored or overlooked a series of early clues that pointed to Army scientist Bruce E. Ivins, a review of investigative records by the Los Angeles Times shows. ...* Genetic analysis by outside scientists published in May 2002 reported that anthrax powder recovered from the mailings most likely came from Ft. Detrick, or it was grown from a sample that originated there. "I would have felt very confident at the time that the top place to look was at Ft. Detrick," said Jonathan A.... FBI P.R. Dept. (aka Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062109/posts#comment Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:34:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059058/posts Report finds lax Fort Detrick procedures Just seven months after the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people, the U.S. Army laboratory in Maryland where the accused killer, microbiologist Bruce E. Ivins, worked was described in a government report as a "rat's nest" that was contaminated with anthrax bacteria. The highly redacted report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, said Suite B-3 in Building 1425 at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick not only was contaminated with anthrax in three locations but the bacteria had escaped from secure areas in... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059058/posts#comment Sat, 9 Aug 2008 15:16:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059060/posts WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that Steven Hatfill was not involved in anthrax mailings for which he was listed six years ago as a person of interest. The Justice Department agreed in June to pay $4.6 million to settle Hatfill's lawsuit against the government, but until Friday the government had not exonerated him, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported. "We have concluded, based on laboratory access records, witness accounts and other information, that Dr. Hatfill did not have access to the particular anthrax used in the attacks, and that he was not involved in... http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/08/08/Scientist_Hatfill_cleared_in_anthrax_scare/UPI-78911218248456 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059060/posts#comment Sat, 9 Aug 2008 15:16:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058930/posts Actions to Aid Probe Appear Now As Cover-UpWASHINGTON -- One night in autumn 2001, as the U.S. reeled from the worst act of bioterrorism in its history, Bruce Ivins was alone in his cluttered Fort Detrick, Md., office, scrubbing phones, walls and furniture. ...... Dr. Ivins, his colleagues said, argued that al Qaeda was responsible. "He was very passionate about this," former boss Jeffrey Adamovicz said. "He was very agitated." In these conversations, Dr. Ivins dwelled at one point on a purported link between Florida victim Robert Stevens, a photographer for American Media, and an apartment rented to 9/11 ringleader... Wall Street Journal (public) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058930/posts#comment Sat, 9 Aug 2008 06:48:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058705/posts WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today began asking tough questions of the Department of Justice and the FBI following the release of documents implicating Dr. Bruce Ivins as the only suspect in the Amerithrax investigation. “This has been a long investigation full of missteps and mistakes. There’s been too much secrecy up to this point and it deserves a full and thorough vetting,” Grassley said. “There are clearly a lot of unanswered questions and it’s time to start a dialogue so we can get answers.” Here is a copy of the text of Grassley’s letter. The Honorable Michael B. Mukasey... Grassley's office http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058705/posts#comment Fri, 8 Aug 2008 18:44:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058577/posts Technical Intelligence in Retrospect: The 2001 Anthrax Letters Powder ------------------------------------------------- Authors: Dany Shoham; Stuart M. Jacobsen --------------------------------------------------- Published in: International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, Volume 20, Issue 1 March 2007 , pages 79 - 105 -------------------------------------------- (Weblink : http://newsdetails.blogspot.com/2007/05/technical-intelligence-in-retrospect.html ) -------------------------------------------- EXCERPTS (...) Naturally, the U.S. Intelligence Community first tried to profile the SSP by technically comparing it with past weaponized anthrax powders made by the U.S. Army. But, while the dehydration-based forming of dry powder, weapon-grade, biological material conducted by William Patrick in the U.S. Army during the 1950s relied on freeze drying, and then grinding down the... International Intelligence Journal, Volume 20, Issue 1, pages 79-105 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058577/posts#comment Fri, 8 Aug 2008 14:43:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2058470/posts 1. FBI says they connected the anthrax mailings with Fort Detrick. But it didn't say such things earlier : “The Federal Bureau of Investigation, suspecting that components from the Delta trainer might have been used to make the anthrax mailed in late 2001, examined the unit, officials and experts said. But investigators found no spores or other evidence linking it to the crime, they said.” http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE6DB133AF931A35754C0A9659C8B63 2. Dr Stephen Hatfill, wrongly suspected for years by FBI, met an ABC News reporter on October 2001 and told him that FBI was losing its time to suspect American scientists. Iraq was behind... French for Freedom http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2058470/posts#comment Fri, 8 Aug 2008 10:30:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058214/posts Casting further doubt on the FBI's anthrax case, accused government scientist Bruce Ivins passed two polygraph tests and a handwriting analysis comparing samples of his handwriting to writing contained in the anthrax letters, U.S. officials familiar with the investigation say. The Justice Department yesterday closed the case, announcing the late "Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for these attacks." WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2058214/posts#comment Thu, 7 Aug 2008 20:29:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057540/posts <p>WASHINGTON - Army scientist Bruce Ivins had custody of highly purified anthrax spores with "certain genetic mutations identical" to the poison that killed five and rattled the nation in 2001, according to documents unsealed Wednesday in the government's investigation.</p> <p>Also, Ivins was unable to give investigators "an adequate explanation for his late laboratory work hours around the time of" the attacks, and he apparently sought to mislead investigators on the case, according to an affidavit filed by one government investigator.</p> AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057540/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 18:48:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056983/posts Jean Duley testified that she was "scared to death" of Bruce Ivins after he left her a string of harassing phone messages, according to an audio recording taken during a July 24 peace order hearing. Duley, 45, told Judge Milnor Roberts that Ivins planned to "go out in a blaze of glory," had bought a bulletproof vest and a gun and planned to kill his co-workers. The audio recording was obtained by The Frederick News-Post on Monday. Duley told the court she got to know Ivins while running group and individual counseling sessions at the Comprehensive Counseling Associates in Frederick... Frederick News Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056983/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 19:38:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056624/posts <p>"WASHINGTON (AP) -- His decades-long obsession with a college sorority may link a former Army biowarfare scientist to four anthrax-laced letters dropped off at a New Jersey mailbox in 2001, authorities said Monday in the latest twist of one of the most bizarre unsolved crimes in FBI history.</p> CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056624/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 03:43:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056608/posts Over the past week the media was gripped by the news that the FBI was about to charge Bruce Ivins, a leading anthrax expert, as the man responsible for the anthrax letter attacks in September/October 2001. But despite the seemingly powerful narrative that Ivins committed suicide because investigators were closing in, this is still far from a shut case. The FBI needs to explain why it zeroed in on Ivins, how he could have made the anthrax mailed to lawmakers and the media, and how he (or anyone else) could have pulled off the attacks, acting alone. I believe this... wsj.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056608/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 03:03:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055865/posts For nearly seven years, scientist Bruce E. Ivins and a small circle of fellow anthrax specialists at Fort Detrick's Army medical lab lived in a curious limbo: They served as occasional consultants for the FBI in the investigation of the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, yet they were all potential suspects. Over lunch in the bacteriology division, nervous scientists would share stories about their latest unpleasant encounters with the FBI and ponder whether they should hire criminal defense lawyers, according to one of Ivins's former supervisors. In tactics that the researchers considered heavy-handed and often threatening, they were interviewed and polygraphed... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055865/posts#comment Sun, 3 Aug 2008 20:31:44 GMT