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Source: Evidence Was Circumstantial

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The New York Times

Published: August 4, 2008

The evidence amassed by FBI investigators against Bruce E. Ivins, the Army scientist who killed himself last week after learning that he was likely to be charged in the anthrax letter attacks of 2001, was largely circumstantial, and a grand jury in Washington was planning to hear several more weeks of testimony before issuing an indictment, a person who has been briefed on the investigation said Sunday.

While genetic analysis had linked the anthrax letters to a supply of the deadly bacterium in Ivins' laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md., at least 10 people had access to the flask containing that anthrax, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation also have no evidence proving that Ivins visited New Jersey on the dates in September and October 2001 when investigators believe the letters were sent from a Princeton mailbox, the source said.

The source acknowledged that there might be some elements of the evidence of which he was unaware. And while he characterized what he did know about as "damning," he said that instead of irrefutable proof, investigators had an array of indirect evidence that they argue strongly implicates Ivins in the attacks.

That evidence includes tracing the pre-stamped envelopes used in the attacks to stock sold in three Maryland post offices, including one in Frederick, frequented by Ivins, who had long rented a post office box there under an assumed name, the source said. The evidence also includes records of the scientist's extensive after-hours use of his lab at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases near the time the letters were mailed, the source said.

One law enforcement official said Sunday that evidence against Ivins might be made public as early as Wednesday, if the bureau could persuade a federal judge to unseal the evidence and if agents could brief survivors of the anthrax attacks and family members of those who died.

The stakes for the beleaguered FBI and its troubled investigation, now in its seventh year, could hardly be higher.

The bureau, having recently paid off one wrongly singled out researcher, Steven J. Hatfill, now stands accused by Ivins' attorney and some of his colleagues of hounding an innocent man to suicide. Only by making public a powerful case that Ivins was behind the letters can the FBI begin to redeem itself, members of Congress say and some bureau officials admit privately.

DASCHLE'S TAKE

WASHINGTON - Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, whose office was a target of the anthrax attacks in 2001, said Sunday the suicide of the government's main suspect does not mean the case is over.

Daschle said the FBI has not given him any new updates. He also raised questions about the quality of the investigation, noting that the government recently paid out almost $6 million to a former Army scientist, Steven Hatfill, who accused authorities of unfairly targeting him in the anthrax case.

"I think the American people deserve more of an accounting on this investigation and some appreciation of how to bring this to closure," Daschle said.

Daschle appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

The Associated Press

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