Remember when Judy Miller received a fake "anthrax" letter in 2001...

[tgnyc]

Someone mailed letters containing anthrax to ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, The New York Post, and the Florida-based company that publishes the National Enquirer in mid-September.

On October 4, an employee of the Florida media company is confirmed to have contracted anthrax.

The next day, a letter containing a white powder is mailed from Florida to the New York Times reporter Judy Miller. The powder tests negative for anthrax.

It always struck me as odd that someone would go to such lengths to raise fear in the halls of the New York-based news media industry, yet somehow skip over the Times. Or that someone merely carrying out a copycat hoax just happened to hit the one major media target that had been previously missed, even though that fact (that the Times never got and never would get an anthrax letter) was not known at the time.

Now that we know how sleazy Miller can be, is it not worth revisiting this episode? If Fitzgerald were permitted to check Judy's phone records from September-October 2001, might he find an interestingly-timed call down to Florida?

Or are we in tinfoil-hat world?

on edit: Understand, I'm not suggesting Miller had anything to do with the real anthrax attacks. Rather, I'm wondering about the fake "anthrax" letter she received.

More, including timeline, here.

[tridim]

1. IMO nothing is tinfoil any more

Tinfoil theories are almost always more in line with reality than the official government reports.

[Supersedeas]

21. where the Official source has lost credibility categorically--yes, yes

[longship]

2. Anthrax business needs to be investigated thoroughly

The fact that people died in an obvious conspiracy that targetted only liberal sources is one of the biggest unreported scandals of this administration.

We need to find out the truth.

[indepat]

7. If Dems ever gain control of the WH and Congress, this should be near the

top of the hundreds of investigations going begging.

[Cha]

3. I don't think anyone's "tinfoil hat"

can be on too tight in the age of a judy miller(mata hari) :tinfoilhat:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Hari

I don't even remember that..good clue!

[aquart]

4. You actually raise a good point.

And Judy wouldn't have had to call Florida. She would simply have had to point out to one of her trusted "sources" that people might be more impressed by the reporting of those who had come thru the anthrax, as they were obviously perceived as a threat to the terrorists.

[MADem]

5. Mailed from Florida, eh???

Heh, heh, heh, That YOU, Jebbie???? Now, Jebbie, now...I just need ya to hep me out here...go get some corn starch outa the cupboard, yeah...I'm sure you got some, that wife a yers is Mexican, don't they like corn? Heh, heh, heh...anyways, put some in a little en-vell-ope, but, wear gloves, heh heh, and send it to this gal friend of ours up in New York City...use block letters when ya address it, now...heh, heh....oh, and keep this on the QT, OK Jebbie???

[stop the bleeding]

8. Its always good to have a little comic relief, I could just picture John

Stewart narrating that.

[MADem]

9. Heh, heh, heh....

The sad thing is, though, I damn near almost believe it!!! These clowns are like the Gang that Couldn't Lie Straight!!

[stop the bleeding]

10. Your killing me. I believe anything from these crooks, its the kind

of strateegeree that they would employ.



Strateegeree - Bush word made up to fight the war on terra

[Kurovski]

6. You're just asking questions and making connections between events.

It's the kind of things reporters used to do.

Recommended.

[tgnyc]

20. And maybe now that Judy may become something of an outcast

among her colleagues, one of them might be willing to undertake such an investigation.

[IChing]

11. Recommended, The fake letter was never traced down either

let alone the ones with real anthrax. Just a coincidence eh?

[Neil Lisst]

12. Your thinking is sound. They were setting it for her to be a hero.

Giving her attention. She's been in bed with them a long time.

[tgnyc]

23. Actually, I think she might have done it herself

-- the fake letter, I mean.

[Gman]

13. Exactly, nothing is tinfoil anymore. Nothing

The country would recoil in horror if they knew the real truth about so many things.

[screembloodymurder]

14. Good point!

I have no doubt that this administration is behind the letters.

[niallmac]

15. Hey I am late to this party but what a fascinating observation.

My first thought and that's all I'll go with as I am otherwise quite ignorant of the particulars...my first thought is that the letter gave Ms Miller some credentials as
a journalist 'worthy of being feared, targeted.'

[FourStarDemocrat]

16. Did any other journalists/ anchors get fake anthrax too, or just Judy?

I remember that ABC recieved one..and maybe CBS, but now I can't remember if those letters contained traces of anthrax or were completely fake powder. If it were just Judy receiving the faked one, that would be interesting indeed.



edit:sp

[tgnyc]

17. There were several other hoaxes in the following several months,

but none of them involved anybody working in the news media

[IChing]

18. The thing you need to be aware of is that mail travels in 3-5 days

She received hers the day after the other ones, not 3-5 days later in order to be a copy cat

The day after the other real anthrax letters were received which means that
whoever sent the real ones and whoever sent the fake one to her
where one in the same.

A copy cat letter fake anthrax writer would not be possible in the time frame.

[tgnyc]

19. Not sure what you're getting at, but according to

Wikipedia, her letter was postmarked Oct. 5, while the other media letters were mailed on Sept. 17th and 18th. Doctors misdiagnosed the symptoms of several affected people until the first confirmation that anyone had anthrax came, on Oct. 4th.

[Ganja Ninja]

22. This administration and its allies in the media ...

will try to label anyone that draws the obvious conclusions from the anthrax episode as a moonbat. The facts are that the investigation dead ends at the front gate of a US military installation. What was the name of that office that Scooter Libby headed up over at the pentagon? The office of "Special Projects".