Wanted By Feds, Anthrax Suspect Kills Self

Official: U.S. Sought Death Penalty Against Top Biodefense Researcher For 2001 Attacks

(CBS/AP)  Federal prosecutors investigating the 2001 anthrax attacks were planning to indict and seek the death penalty against a top Army microbiologist in connection with anthrax mailings that killed five people. The scientist, who was developing a vaccine against the deadly toxin, committed suicide this week.

The scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, worked for the past 18 years at the government's biodefense labs at Fort Detrick, Md. For more than a decade, he worked to develop an anthrax vaccine that was effective even in cases where different strains of anthrax were mixed, which made vaccines ineffective, according to federal documents reviewed by the AP.

U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing grand jury investigation, said prosecutors were closing in on Ivins, 62. They were planning an indictment that would have sought the death penalty for the attacks, which killed five people, crippled the postal system and traumatized a nation still reeling from the Sept. 11 attacks.

Authorities were investigating whether Ivins released the anthrax as a way to test his vaccine, officials said. The Justice Department has not yet decided whether to close the investigation, officials said, meaning it's still not certain whether Ivins acted alone or had help. One official close to the case said that decision was expected within days.

If the case is closed soon, one official said, that will indicate that Ivins was the lone suspect.

Ivins was "hounded" by aggressive FBI agents who raided his home twice, said Dr. W. Russell Byrne, a colleague who worked in the bacteriology division of the Fort Detrick research facility for 15 years. Byrne said Ivins was forcefully removed from his job by local police recently because of fears that he had become a danger to himself or others. The investigation led to Ivins being hospitalized for depression earlier this month, Byrne said.

He said he does not believe Ivins was behind the anthrax attacks.

A 16-year-old girl who lives in Ivins' neighborhood told CBS News that for about a year there have been cars parked in front of her house that have come and gone on a regular schedule. When asked what they were doing, the girl said the reply was "official FBI business."

Ivins died Tuesday at Frederick Memorial Hospital in Maryland. Tom Ivins, a brother of the scientist, told The Associated Press that his other brother, Charles, had told him that Bruce committed suicide and Tylenol might have been involved. The Los Angeles Times, which first reported that Ivins was under suspicion, said the scientist had taken a massive dose of a prescription Tylenol mixed with codeine.

The Fort Detrick laboratory and its specialized scientists for years have been at the center of the FBI's investigation of the anthrax mailings. In late June, the government exonerated a colleague of Ivins', Steven Hatfill. Hatfill's name has for years had been associated with the attacks after investigators named him a "person of interest" in 2002.

Unusual behavior by Ivins was noted at Fort Detrick in the six months following the anthrax mailings, when he conducted unauthorized testing for anthrax spores outside containment areas at the infectious disease research unit where he worked, according to an internal report. But the focus long stayed on Hatfill.

The government paid Hatfill $5.82 million to settle a lawsuit he filed against the Justice Department in which he claimed the department violated his privacy rights by speaking with reporters about the case.

Hatfill was never arrested and never charged, CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reported.

Ivins was the co-author of numerous anthrax studies, including one on a treatment for inhalation anthrax published in the July 7 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Henry S. Heine, a scientist who had worked with Ivins on inhalation anthrax research at Fort Detrick, said he and others on their team have testified before a federal grand jury in Washington that has been investigating the anthrax mailings for more than a year. He declined to comment on Ivins' death.

FBI vehicles with tinted windows had watched Ivins' home for a year, neighbor Natalie Duggan, 16, said.

"They said, 'We're on official business,' " she said.

Tom Ivins said Friday that federal officials working on the anthrax case questioned him about his brother a year and a half ago. "They said they were investigating him," he said from Ohio, where he lives, in a CNN interview.

"We are not at this time making any official statements or comments regarding this situation," said Debbie Weierman, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington field office, which is investigating the anthrax attacks, said Friday.

Five people died and 17 were sickened by anthrax powder in letters that were mailed to lawmakers' Capitol Hill offices, TV networks in New York, and tabloid newspaper offices in Florida. Two postal workers in a Washington mail facility, a New York hospital worker, a Florida photo editor and an elderly Connecticut woman were killed.

[samsel3]

In an interview with Merideth Viera on NBC this morning August 4, 2008, the bureau chief of the Fort Detrick lab, and boss of Dr. Ivins said: " I don''t beleive anything the Government is saying about Bruce Ivins".

[i_wonder_ii]

The atrocity of the day -- right now -- is this thing about the Anthrax guy. All along I''ve maintained considerable interest in this story since 2001. Now with the "suicide" of this guy Ivins, one new fact has emerged: before any anthrax letters were mailed -- or the word even was first used -- several White House officials were quietly telling all their friends, including "friendly" press reporters to get a prescription for Cipro, and have it handy in case something should happen! So... I already knew that W''s people mailed the anthrax to scare the American public into going along with the Iraq invasion... but this was just one more bit of evidence. Mail some anthrax to top Democratic Senators plus a few news reporters... and scare the country into a war... to invade an innocent country, kill 2 million of their citizens... and steal their oil. Just another day''s business for the GOP.

[cbs_bull]

Suicide is a natural result of depression that is a common disease in our society. Mr. Ivins'' suicide should NOT make people think he is less innocent in the anthrax case. We need real evidence from this government.

[samsel3]

Another case of CIA assisted suicide.......Dr. Ivins joins another Fort Detrick Alumni, Dr. Frank Olson. The dead cannot speak and incriminate their perpetrators.

"While aides to Gerald Ford, Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Cheney helped cover up the background to the death of CIA scientist, Frank Olson who fell from a 10th floor window in 1953, not long after he had been classified as a potential security risk."

"Olson''s son Eric says his father''s conscience was troubled by awareness of Nazi-style CIA experiments on human subjects. "

[samsel3]

Another case of CIA assisted suicide........

Dr. Ivins joins another Fort Detrick Alumni, Dr. Frank Olson. The dead cannot speak and incriminate their perpetrators.

[samsel3]

When you can come up with the name of the proper agency, your theory might sound more plausible.

Posted by txgrouch2006 at 09:39 AM : Aug 02, 2008

Read my previous post about PROJECT MK-ULTRA

[samsel3]

One of the most controversial issues surrounding Project MK-ULTRA involved the mysterious death of Dr. Frank Olson, a scientist at Fort Detrick, Maryland, where many of these studies were conducted. According to the government''''s version of events, as part of the MK-ULTRA experiments, Olson was dosed with LSD without his knowledge, and he suffered severe paranoia and a nervous breakdown. The CIA sent him to New York to see one of their psychiatrists, who recommended that Olson be placed into a mental institution for recovery. On his last night in New York, Olson allegedly threw himself out his hotel room window, plunging to his death. Skeptics of this story argue that his death may be a murder, pointing to the questionable nature of the research Olson was involved with.[citation needed]. A grand jury inquiry of Olson''''s death was approved on April 27,1996 and on the same day former CIA chief William disappeared and his remains were found in a lake. [1]Wikepedia CIA activities in the USA.

[cbs_bull]

I think this government owes us an explanation why they think Ivins is the culprit. They have been proven incompetent in the Hatfill''s case. They have to show us now why Ivins is not the 2nd Hatfill. We need evidence.

[txgrouch2006]

samsel3 wrote
Another case of CIA assisted suicide. Years of continuing secrecy, the CIA remains an elite organization with agendas kept beyond the realm the FBI.
----------------
Now there''s a whacko conspiracy theory.

Little problem you might want to fix - THE CIA DOES NOT PERFORM DOMESTIC OPERATIONS. The CIA couducts only FOREIGN operations.

The organization that performs the domestic operations IS A DIFFERENT AGENCY.

When you can come up with the name of the proper agency, your theory might sound more plausible.

[samsel3]

Another case of CIA assisted suicide. Years of continuing secrecy, the CIA remains an elite organization with agendas kept beyond the realm the FBI.

The answer to the Anthrax mystery lies with Bush, Cheney and the CIA strategists who wanted to drum up support for the invasion and regime change of seven countries. Putting the American people in fear of terrorism for their dirty game on the world stage was a disgusting choice. Using a genetically fingerprinted US Army military grade Anthrax was not very smart. They never thought anyone would research the materials genetic fingerprint. Money, power, greed for gain, they all need to be indicted for crimes against humanity in the World Court where justice will be served for all.

[txgrouch2006]

Humanavance quoted Carl Sagan (don''t ask me why)
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe
-------------------
Sounds JUST like the Bush bashers.

[txgrouch2006]

i haven''''t any idea though i''''ve heard "rumors"
Posted by neoconRcrazy at 07:35 AM : Aug 02, 2008
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Then I guess you''re admitting you''re NOT VERY WELL INFORMED. Or you''re in partisan denial.

[txgrouch2006]

He,like Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed to protect the real conspirators.
Posted by JamJHolmes at 07:57 AM : Aug 02, 2008
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YAAAAH! THANK YOU for summing up this conspiracy theory so neatly.

KOO KOO! KOO KOO! KOO KOO!

I was IN Dealy Plaza. I discovered things the conspiracy theories NEVER discuss. Like the LARGE WOODED AREA just on the other side of the railroad tracks.

Eventually I realized that ALL of the JFK conspiracy theories rely on NOTHING other that what''s visible in the Zapruder film. THEY DID NO OTHER INDEPENDENT RESEARCH.

And finally, the conspiracy theory websites provide THE BEST EVIDENCE OF ALL that Oswald fired the fatal shot, and that there is NO credible evidence of another shooter.

So keep on banging that conspiracy drum. Make yourselves look like lunatics.

[jamjholmes]

He,like Lee Harvey Oswald, was killed to protect the real conspirators.

[jamjholmes]

Tom Daschle and Pat Leahy were questioning the PATRIOT ACT and just happened to be sent the anthrax, COINCIDENCE?

[neoconrcrazy]

And then there was the President Who Cried Wolf, five hundred times."

Posted by Humanavance


and with each cry thousands fell, blindly struck down by his lies.....

[neoconrcrazy]

HOW many mysterious deaths occurred among those who became obstacles to the Clinton administration???

Posted by txgrouch2006


i haven''t any idea though i''ve heard "rumors", especially from their political opponents.

but here we have a speical situation relating to the lead-up to the bush war in iraq where that country, falsely, was accused of mass-producing similar bio-weapons and threatening us with them.

our regime implied that 9-11 & iraq, and anthrax & iraq were all one and the same - the result we now know is 650''000+ dead iraqis and an additional 4000 dead Americans -

so the convenient suicide.....i''ll leave the rest to your own take on the matter.

[panhandlpete]

What a cover story.....ooops, a cover-up story! Yep, the case can now be closed as one employee receives a $5.82 million settlement and another commits suicide.
If a well educated scientist used T-3 to exit this world, why wouldn''t he leave us an explanation for his actions? Too many unanswered questions that, we the public, will never know the TRUTH, only what we are told.

[txgrouch2006]

a convenient suicide ...
Posted by neoconRcrazy at 07:15 AM : Aug 02, 2008
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HOW many mysterious deaths occurred among those who became obstacles to the Clinton administration???

[txgrouch2006]

"The Republican and Democratic parties have delivered us into the hands of darkness."
Posted by Humanavance at 05:03 AM : Aug 02, 2008
---------------
FINALLY, some balance in a post.

Most posts on this board are just the spewing of rabid dogs.