[THS] FBI investigation of 2001 anthrax attacks concluded

[Peter Webster]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/19/AR2010021902369.html

FBI investigation of 2001 anthrax attacks concluded; U.S. releases details

By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 20, 2010

The Justice Department officially ended its eight-year investigation of the 2001
anthrax attacks Friday with the release of hundreds of pages of documents that
starkly portray the mental unraveling of the deceased Army scientist accused of
committing the worst act of bioterrorism in U.S. history.

The records offer substantial support for the FBI's contention that biologist Bruce E.
Ivins single-handedly prepared and mailed deadly anthrax spores that killed five
people and terrorized a nation still reeling from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New
York and Washington.

Drawing from the suspect's e-mails and recorded conversations, the FBI documents
show an increasingly agitated Ivins seeking to implicate colleagues while misleading
investigators about his ability to make the deadly powder used in the attacks.

In a new disclosure, Justice officials released a transcript of a secretly taped
conversation in which Ivins suggests that he might have committed acts that he
could no longer recall.

"I, in my right mind, wouldn't do it," Ivins is quoted as saying of the anthrax attacks
in June 2008, weeks before his death. But he added, "It worries me when I wake up
in the morning and I've got all my clothes and my shoes on, and my car keys are
right beside there."

The transcript was among hundreds of evidentiary findings and exhibits that Justice
officials say add up to an overwhelming case against Ivins, despite the lack of a
confession, eye-witnesses or a single fingerprint linking the scientist to the crime.

A 96-page summary of the investigation concludes that Ivins hatched the anthrax-by-
mail scheme in hopes of creating a scare that would rescue what he considered his
greatest achievement, an anthrax vaccine program that he had helped create but
that by 2001 was in danger of failing. Investigators reiterated their conviction that the
anthrax bacteria used in the attack originated in his lab and that Ivins was one of a
few scientists with both access to the spores and the skills needed to create the
deadly powder sent to news media and U.S. Senate offices in September and
October of 2001.

The validity of the FBI's case will never be tested in court. Ivins, a biologist at the
Army's Fort Detrick biodefense lab in Frederick, committed suicide in 2008 as
government lawyers were preparing to charge him. And even as Justice officials filed
legal papers officially ending their investigation, prominent critics of the bureau's
handling of the investigation said they were still not satisfied that the true killer had
been found.

"Arbitrarily closing the case on a Friday afternoon should not mean the end of this
investigation," said Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.), whose district contained the mailbox
from which the anthrax letters were sent. "The evidence the FBI produced would
not, I think, stand up in court."

The spore-laden letters killed five people, sickened 17 others and led to billions of
dollars in government and private spending aimed at defending the country against
biological attacks. It also spawned an expensive, eight-year FBI probe that spanned
six continents and included multiple, highly publicized mishaps, chief among them
the public naming of Ivins's colleague Stephen Hatfill as a "person of interest" in the
investigation. The FBI later apologized to Hatfill.

The FBI concluded by 2007 that Ivins had created a blend of anthrax spores that was
genetically identical to the material used in the 2001 attacks. The scientist was the
sole custodian of the spores, which he kept in a flask in a high-security lab at Fort
Detrick's premier biodefense research center.

Only two outside labs -- the Army's Dugway biodefense center in Utah and Battelle
laboratory in Columbus, Ohio -- were known to have received samples from Ivins's
flask. But FBI agents, using lab notes and electronic records, were able to account
for every individual who could have gained access to the spores and conclusively
ruled each of them out as a suspect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moreover, FBI and U.S. Postal Service investigators concluded that the envelopes used in the attack were purchased at a post office in Maryland or Virginia by someone who could have made the drive to the Princeton, N.J., mailbox in time to mail them from there.
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Lab records from Fort Detrick revealed that Ivins uncharacteristically logged dozens of hours late at night just before the anthrax envelopes were sent and that he was inexplicably absent during long stretches when investigators think he drove to New Jersey to mail them. When asked about the unusual lab hours and absences, Ivins "was unable to provide reasonable or consistent explanations," the Justice summary stated.

The newly released documents also shed light on Ivins's apparent attempts to mislead investigators. At least twice, he told FBI agents that he lacked the equipment or skill to create the kind of highly concentrated and purified spore concoctions used in the attack. But in his e-mails and private writings, Ivins acknowledged having the capability and precisely the right kinds of technical gear, including a spore-drying machine called a lyophilizer that was assigned to him personally, with an instruction manual labeled for "Dr. Ivins."

The new documents also suggest for the first time that Ivins, who was known to have a fascination with hidden codes and ciphers, might have sent a hidden message in the handwritten labels on the anthrax envelopes sent to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw. The bioterrorist darkened the letters "A" and "T" in certain words in a manner that, when the A's and T's are looked at together, appears to spell out chains of amino acids, the building blocks of DNA. Each of the chains is in turn associated with a letter of the alphabet.

"From this analysis, two possible hidden meanings emerged: (1) 'FNY' -- a verbal assault on New York, and (2) 'PAT,' " the Justice summary said. Pat is the nickname of a former co-worker to whom Ivins was said to have an obsessive emotional attachment.

The FBI's handling of the investigation has been criticized by Ivins's colleagues and by independent analysts who pointed out multiple gaps, including a lack of hair, fiber or other physical evidence directly linking Ivins to the anthrax letters. But despite long delays and false leads, Justice officials expressed satisfaction Friday with the outcome.

The evidence "established that Dr. Ivins, alone, mailed the anthrax letters," the Justice summary stated.

Staff writers Peter Finn and Carrie Johnson and researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report. 

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2001 file photo, members of the U.S. Marine Corps' Chemical-
Biological Incident Response Force demonstrate anthrax clean-up techniques during
a news conference in on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Kenneth Lambert, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2001 file photo, members of the U.S. Marine Corps' Chemical-
Biological Incident Response Force demonstrate anthrax clean-up techniques during
a news conference in on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Kenneth Lambert, File)
(Kenneth Lambert - AP)

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2001, file photo, biohazard worker Michelle Gillie, right,
prepares to enter the office of Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., in the Longworth House
office building on Capitol Hill in Washington. At left is Michelle Richman, scheduler for
Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif. (AP Photo/Kenneth Lambert, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2001, file photo, biohazard worker Michelle Gillie, right,
prepares to enter the office of Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., in the Longworth House
office building on Capitol Hill in Washington. At left is Michelle Richman, scheduler for
Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif. (AP Photo/Kenneth Lambert, File) (Kenneth Lambert -
AP)

FILE In this Oct. 25,2001 file photo, hazardous materials workers prepare to enter the
still-closed Brentwood Mail facility in Washington. After seven frustrating years
probing the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings, the FBI formally closed the case Friday,
concluding a mentally unhinged government researcher acted alone. (AP Photo/Ron
Thomas, File)

FILE In this Oct. 25,2001 file photo, hazardous materials workers prepare to enter the
still-closed Brentwood Mail facility in Washington. After seven frustrating years
probing the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings, the FBI formally closed the case Friday,
concluding a mentally unhinged government researcher acted alone. (AP Photo/Ron
Thomas, File) (Ron Thomas - AP)

FILE - In these Oct. 16, 2001 handout file photo, provided by the Justice
Department, shows the envelopes that contained letters and anthrax sent to NBC's
Tom Brokaw and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. (AP Photo/Justice
Department, File)

FILE - In these Oct. 16, 2001 handout file photo, provided by the Justice
Department, shows the envelopes that contained letters and anthrax sent to NBC's
Tom Brokaw and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. (AP Photo/Justice
Department, File) (Anonymous - AP)

FILE - In this Oct. 9, 2001 file photo, FBI agents with the special investigation unit
use a dolly to move a drum at American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla. After seven
frustrating years probing the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings, the FBI formally closed
the case Friday, concluding a mentally unhinged government researcher acted alone.
(AP Photo/Steve Mitchell, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 9, 2001 file photo, FBI agents with the special investigation unit
use a dolly to move a drum at American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla. After seven
frustrating years probing the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings, the FBI formally closed
the case Friday, concluding a mentally unhinged government researcher acted alone.
(AP Photo/Steve Mitchell, File) (Steve Mitchell - AP)

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2001 file photo, the House side of the Capitol in Washington
remains closed, shut down during a sweep for anthrax. After seven frustrating years
probing the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings, the FBI formally closed the case Friday,
concluding a mentally unhinged government researcher acted alone. (AP
Photo/Kenneth Lambert, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 18, 2001 file photo, the House side of the Capitol in Washington
remains closed, shut down during a sweep for anthrax. After seven frustrating years
probing the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings, the FBI formally closed the case Friday,
concluding a mentally unhinged government researcher acted alone. (AP
Photo/Kenneth Lambert, File) (Kenneth Lambert - AP)

A photograph of flask of anthrax from the investigation documents. The government
contends that Ivins acted alone. (Department Of Justice)

Bruce E. Ivins, shown in a 2003 photo, committed suicide while under investigation in
the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks. (Sam Yu/associated Press)