The 2001 anthrax attacks were one of the most complicated in the history of the FBI. Five people died after an unknown perpetrator mailed envelopes containing highly-toxic anthrax spores to several media outlets and two Democratic Senators.
Steven Hatfill, a biological weapons expert, was the FBI’s initial primary suspect. After intense scrutiny, including government leaks – from FBI agents to the press in violation of the federal Privacy Act and frenzied media coverage, the Bureau officially exonerated Hatfill. By then, irreparable damage had occurred. Hatfill found himself unemployable, with a reputation in tatters.
From there, investigators shifted their focus to Bruce Edwards Ivins, a senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
In 2007, FBI agents began surveilling Ivins. Around the same time, an FBI document mentioned him as “an extremely sensitive suspect.”
On July 29, 2008, with criminal charges seemingly imminent, Ivins committed suicide with an overdose of acetaminophen.
Days later, FBI and Justice Department officials made their case at a press conference that Ivins was the likely sole perpetrator. However, no direct evidence of his involvement in this crime over the past decade has come to light.
Many have found the DOJ’s official findings unsatisfactory. Those openly critical include senior microbiologists; the widow of one of the victims; and prominent American politicians, including Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) – one of the senators targeted in the attack.
In 2011, a panel from the National Academy of Sciences reviewed the FBI’s evidence. The committee “conclude[d] that the bureau overstated the strength of genetic analysis linking the mailed anthrax to a supply kept by Bruce E. Ivins.” The panel’s most damning takeaway was that “it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the [anthrax] in the mailings based on the available scientific evidence alone.”
AAN Staff
The staff at American Action News are consummate professionals, who when not producing original, hard-hitting content, are scouring the internet to bring you the unfiltered news that matters to you! Our mission is to maximize your experience on our website. If we can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to let us know!
