Glenn Greenwald: DOJ casts serious doubt on its own claims about the anthrax attack

[JohnyCanuck]

Ever since the FBI claimed (for a second time) that it had discovered in 2008 the identity of the anthrax attacker -- the recently-deceased-by-suicide Army researcher Bruce Ivins -- it was glaringly obvious, as I documented many times, that the case against him was exceedingly weak, unpersuasive and full of gaping logical, scientific, and evidentiary holes. So dubious are the FBI's claims that serious doubt has been raised and independent investigations demanded not by marginalized websites devoted to questioning all government claims, but rather, by the nation's most mainstream, establishment venues, ones that instinctively believe and defend such claims -- including the editorial pages of the nation's largest newspapers, leading scientific journals, the nation's preeminent science officials, and key politicians from both parties (led by those whose districts, or offices, were most affected by the attacks). To get a sense for the breadth and depth of the establishment skepticism about Ivins' guilt, just click on some of those links.

Since that initial wave of doubt, the FBI's case against Ivins has continuously deteriorated even further. In February of this year, a panel of the National Academy of Sciences released its findings solely regarding the bureau's alleged scientific evidence (independent investigations of the full case against Ivins have been successfully blocked by the Obama administration), and found -- as The New York Times put it -- that "the bureau overstated the strength of genetic analysis linking the mailed anthrax to a supply kept by" Ivins; the Washington Post headline summarized the impact of those findings: "Anthrax report casts doubt on scientific evidence in FBI case against Bruce Ivins."

But the biggest blow yet to the FBI's case has just occurred as the result of an amazing discovery by PBS' Frontline, which is working on a documentary about the case with McClatchy and ProPublica:

The Justice Department has called into question a key pillar of the FBI's case against Bruce Ivins. . . . On July 15 [], Justice Department lawyers acknowledged in court papers that the sealed area in Ivins' lab -- the so-called hot suite -- did not contain the equipment needed to turn liquid anthrax into the refined powder that floated through congressional buildings and post offices in the fall of 2001.

The government said it continues to believe that Ivins was "more likely than not" the killer. But the filing in a Florida court did not explain where or how Ivins could have made the powder, saying only that the lab "did not have the specialized equipment’" in Ivins' secure lab "that would be required to prepare the dried spore preparations that were used in the letters."

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/07/19/anthrax/index.html

[JohnyCanuck]

1. FBI Sweeps Anthrax Under the Rug

US Attorney Jeff Taylor was sweating on August 6, as he laid out his case against the late Dr. Bruce Ivins at a news conference-and with good reason. Anyone familiar with the case is well aware that Dr. Ivins was railroaded, and that the news conference was a flimsy web of lies.

Ivins had nothing to do with the 2001 anthrax attacks. The attacks were almost certainly carried out by the only group that had the means to produce the highly weaponized anthrax in the letters: the CIA, its contractor Battelle Memorial Institute of West Jefferson, Ohio., and the Army at Dugway in Utah.

snip

The distinguishing feature of the anthrax that killed five people in 2001 is not related to its genes. What made that anthrax unique was that it was highly weaponized. Anthrax is a common pathogen found in the soil in many places. It doesn’t become lethal unless produced in such a way that it behaves like a gas, floating easily in the air and deep into a victim’s lungs.

The anthrax used in the attacks was beyond cutting edge. Donald A. Henderson, former assistant secretary for the Office of Public Health Preparedness at the Department of Health and Human Services, told Science magazine: “It just didn’t have to be that good” to be lethal.

http://rockcreekfreepress.tumblr.com/post/46413512/fbi-sweeps-anthrax-under-the-rug

[JohnyCanuck]

6. kick n/t

[JohnyCanuck]

2. Also covered by Rawstory

The department's latest filings come as government attorneys defend against a case brought by one of the victims' families, who argue for civil damages over the army's lack of controls on anthrax spores.

Government attorneys are arguing that Ivins did not produce the spores at the army facility, but they lack evidence that he produced them anywhere else.

During the prosecution, the FBI had argued that Ivins was most likely the culprit because he spent a growing amount of time in his lab in the weeks before the anthrax attacks.

An earlier effort to have an independent organization re-investigate the attacks was killed after President Barack Obama issued a veto threat, citing concerns among the intelligence community and a need to maintain the public's faith in the FBI's initial investigation.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/19/documents-alleged-anthrax-killer-lacked-necessary-equipment/

[EFerrari]

3. DoJ has tried to fix their whoopsie by retracting portions of those filings.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1527048

[JohnyCanuck]

4. Close that stable door toute suite, DoJ.......

Tough luck that the horse has already bolted.

[EFerrari]

5. I'm loving that Frontline, McClatchy and ProPublica are all on this.

It's a lot harder to shut down three diffrent outlets.

Propublica was the one that debunked the "suspicious spill" story FBI floated. They found out that there was a spill, not suspicious and not even Ivins but that he had reported it right away. All their stories about him tend to turn out like that.

[JohnyCanuck]

7. KPFA's Guns and Butter program examines the Anthrax attack. (MP3 audio)

http://archives.kpfa.org/data/20110720-Wed1300.mp3