DNA Key To FBI's Anthrax Probe

Source: Tracking Lethal Letters To Army Scientist Involved Advanced Genetic ID Techniques

(CBS/ AP)  It was science that led the FBI to the scientist.

Beginning with cell samples of the anthrax that was mailed in 2001, investigators used advanced DNA fingerprinting techniques to identify unique sections of genetic code. With that, investigators tracked the anthrax back to the biological weapons lab at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., where the highly specific type of toxin was overseen by scientist Bruce Ivins.

A government scientist close to the investigation described the process to The Associated Press. He did so on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the case.

The genetic case-cracker and other tools used to identify Ivins as the lead suspect in the attacks are believed to be described in court documents that remain sealed. Because Ivins committed suicide last week before he could be indicted on murder charges, the Justice Department is considering closing the "Amerithrax" investigation, possibly as early as Monday or Tuesday.

If so, the court documents could be released, capping what had been one of the FBI's most publicized unsolved cases.

Quoting federal officials close to the seven-year investigation, The Wall Street Journal reports that a bookcase in Ivins' office at an Army laboratory contained anthrax spores that have become central to the probe and a key link to the government's case against Ivins.

Critics of the investigation told The Wall Street Journal that the spores found on the bookcase, along with those found in a nearby men's changing room - which are both far from the military lab where scientists worked with anthrax - should have made Ivins a top suspect much earlier.

Among the other unanswered questions in the investigation is how Ivins could have created the fine anthrax powder that, distributed in the mail, killed five people and terrorized the nation. Ivins' lab didn't deal with powdered anthrax and there is disagreement over whether he could have created it - and if he did, how he kept it a secret.

"It takes time and privacy, especially working out the methods, which I wouldn't have guessed anyone really knew in the lab at that time," said former colleague David R. Franz, who added that Ivins probably could have figured out the science but would have had trouble going unnoticed.

It's also unclear how prosecutors went from the DNA analysis, which narrowed their focus to a small number of scientists, to being certain enough of his guilt to prepare murder charges and begin discussing plea deals and the death penalty.

The case also raises public policy questions. Ivins' therapist, Jean C. Duley, described him as a "revenge killer" who had been diagnosed by several psychiatrists as "a sociopathic, homicidal killer." Yet Ivins was cleared by the U.S. government to work with some of the world's most dangerous toxins.

That underscores a little-known security gap in the nation's biological warfare laboratory system: Many of the estimated 14,000 scientists working with these dangerous substances are not screened for lingering psychological problems.

Dr. Russell Byrne, a former colleague of Ivins' who said he had known him for 15 years, said he had not noticed anything amiss in Ivins' behavior during the years they worked together. Byrne said the deterioration in Ivins' mental state had become noticeable to his colleagues only in the last year and could have resulted from the pressure of knowing he was under investigation.

"The changes really began to accelerate in the last year. He would sit at his desk weeping," Byrne said Monday on NBC's "Today" show. "He really couldn't do his work any more. The pressure was tremendous."

Only those scientists working at military labs are scrutinized for mental health and behavioral issues. And that heightened level of screening was apparently not enough to flag Ivins. One former colleague, Kathleen Carr, said it's largely up to scientists to self-report psychological problems that might make them dangerous.

"People given these kinds of responsibilities, with this kind of power at their fingertips, we have to make sure that they are not likely to do harm to others or misuse that authority - be it intentionally or be it because of some mental problem," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. "These kinds of situations cry out for reexamination of our standards."

Jonathan B. Tucker, a Washington expert on biological weapons, said stricter rules will come with a price.

"You're basically going to scare off any scientist from wanting to work in this field if it becomes even more stringent," he said. "It is a balance. It's a policy decision about how stringent we want to be."

[talkingham]

Sounds like they have the team that prosecuted OJ hard at work on this case. It is absurd to think he was still allowed in that lab even knowing 1/10th of what they claimed to have known. This case stinks.

[downtowner97]

Back up a few steps and think about this: Why are we talking so calmly about our weaponized Anthrax program. Why doe we have a weaponized Anthrax program? If we found out someone else had a weaponized Antrhax program, we''d spend a trillion dollars invading them. Doesn''t the US only fight wars where we can pick our targets and minimize civilian casualties? The bigger picture is uglier than the use of this man, who clearly dedicated his life to killing large numbers of people just by getting involved in weaponized Anthrax, as a patsy for justifying the rush to war.

If Ivins did mail the letters, and I don''t think he did, does that make him a Muslim? He probably wasn''t. Was he then a Librul, bend on the destruction of Jesus and America? The letters went to Libruls, so probably not. The pieces just don''t fit.

[downtowner97]

Back up a few steps and think about this: Why are we talking so calmly about our weaponized Anthrax program. Why doe we have a weaponized Anthrax program? If we found out someone else had a weaponized Antrhax program, we''d spend a trillion dollars invading them. Doesn''t the US only fight wars where we can pick our targets and minimize civilian casualties? The bigger picture is uglier than the use of this man, who clearly dedicated his life to killing large numbers of people just by getting involved in weaponized Anthrax, as a patsy for justifying the rush to war.

If Ivins did mail the letters, and I don''t think he did, does that make him a Muslim? He probably wasn''t. Was he then a Librul, bend on the destruction of Jesus and America? The letters went to Libruls, so probably not. The pieces just don''t fit.

[jmurrieta1]

I look forward to hearing in detail (as we probably never will) just what these "new" DNA techniques are that were not available in 2001 or 2003 or 2005.

The ability to determine the complete DNA sequence of an isolated bacterial strain has been around for years. And since the anthrax was sent in large quantities of quite pure bacteria, there should have been plenty of ability to obtain a complete DNA sequence of the terrorist strain. Clearly the National Lab would have had complete DNA sequences of all its strains.

What else is there that would suddenly allow the feds to pinpoint this lab that wasn''t available 5 years ago?

Very curious indeed.

[jmurrieta1]

I look forward to hearing in detail (as we probably never will) just what these "new" DNA techniques are that were not available in 2001 or 2003 or 2005.

The ability to determine the complete DNA sequence of an isolated bacterial strain has been around for years. And since the anthrax was sent in large quantities of quite pure bacteria, there should have been plenty of ability to obtain a complete DNA sequence of the terrorist strain. Clearly the National Lab would have had complete DNA sequences of all its strains.

What else is there that would suddenly allow the feds to pinpoint this lab that wasn''t available 5 years ago?

Very curious indeed.

[blitzder]

The whole issue reeks of the same modus operandi used to justify the Iraq war, invade then blame the intel people. The same crooks seem to be involved as in the Valerie Plame fiasco. Keep the lid on till it goes away. This administration just can''t stop the train wreck they have caused to American justice.

[samsel3]

In an interview with Merideth Viera on NBC this morning August 4, 2008, bureau chief Dr. Russell Byrne of the Fort Detrick lab, and boss of Dr. Ivins said:

" I don''t beleive anything the Government is saying about Bruce Ivins".

The most important statement of the NBC interview and
CBS does not report it.

[samsel3]

In an interview with Merideth Viera on NBC this morning August 4, 2008, bureau chief Dr. Russell Byrne of the Fort Detrick lab, and boss of Dr. Ivins said:

" I don''t beleive anything the Government is saying about Bruce Ivins".

The most important statement of the NBC interview and
CBS does not report it.

[samsel3]

In an interview with Merideth Viera on NBC this morning August 4, 2008, bureau chief Dr. Russell Byrne of the Fort Detrick lab, and boss of Dr. Ivins said:

" I don''t beleive anything the Government is saying about Bruce Ivins".

The most important statement of the NBC interview and
CBS does not report it.

[jmurrieta1]

NIH News, April 30, 2003:

"The complete genetic blueprint of Bacillus anthracis %u2014 the microbe that gained notoriety during the 2001 anthrax mail attacks %u2014 is now known, researchers announced today. A formidable bioterrorist threat and the cause of potentially fatal inhalational anthrax, B. anthracis differs very little from the common soil bacterium that is its near relative, the scientists discovered. Those genetic differences are enough to give B. anthracis its disease-causing properties and may also give scientists valuable clues to its vulnerabilities.

The team of researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and other federal agencies was led by Claire M. Fraser, Ph.D., and Timothy Read, Ph.D., at The Institute of Genomic Research in Rockville, MD. The complete sequence of the 5.2 million base pairs of the DNA in B. anthracis'' single chromosome is published in the May 1 issue of Nature."


But they only figured out about Ivins a couple of weeks ago? When the anthrax genome was completely sequenced 5 years ago?

Curiouser and curiouser.

[neoconrcrazy]

CBS does not report it.

Posted by samsel3


yeah, you''re right - this steam-rolling of Ivins by the Justice Dept - is disgraceful

and the open questions remain as many of you have posed -

for me, it''s the enormous coincidence in timing, 40 days after 9-11 !!!!

an attack like this would take months to organize, no?

or did Ivins, after 9-11, say to himself, here''s a good cover for my murder - blame it on iraq !!!!!!

either we get to the bottom or we can ask "who killed Kennedy"...for the next 100 years

[sistatee-2009]

Minutes after the anthrax attacks, authorities found vials of anthrax in the Texas School Book Depository, and were able to link Bruce Ivins to the crime. Pictures of Ivins holding samples of the bacterium were later found in his apartment, along with copies of mail-order invoices indicating he had purchased the deadly substance from a Rite Aid pharmacy in Dallas.

[samsel3]

Posted by GOP_forever at 12:25 PM : Aug 04, 2008

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.

[sistatee-2009]

Minutes after the anthrax attacks, authorities found vials of anthrax in the Texas School Book Depository, and were able to link Bruce Ivins to the crime. Pictures of Ivins holding samples of the bacterium were later found in his apartment, along with copies of mail-order invoices indicating he had purchased the deadly substance from a Rite Aid pharmacy in Dallas.

[neoconrcrazy]

2 suspects ;

1st gets 6 millions for false accusations
2nd gets an injection

end of story... or so they think....America is waking up.....

[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. "

[neoconrcrazy]

Sorry, not 40 days

Posted by prometheus41


thank you, chained one! even chillier now....my God, only a week!

[downtowner97]

A little research has answered my own question of "Why do we have a weaponized Antrhax lab?" It turns out every country needs one to be able to develop cures, or else they would become sitting ducks in an attack. Once you have a lab, a viable weaponized strain, a cure, automated detectors, and teams trained in dealing with the threat, you only need two more things: A test, and a patsy to be blamed for conducting the test.

The timing of the test was perfect. Attack Liberal lawmakers just before asking them to sign the Patriot Act.

Incidentally, I spelled Liberals "Libruls" earlier because it sounds so dirty when Rush Limbaugh says it that way.

[downtowner97]

Why do neocons attack us? They hate us for our freedom.

[neoconrcrazy]

so the bush henchmen want to "clear" this matter before leaving office.......the guys in the black hats get off their horses and swab the trial behind them with dry branches.....

guys, 7 years afterwards - no results - we got the uni-bomber but we couldn''t get "anthrax-poisoner"?

when you don''t want an answer, you drop the case.....

[samsel3]

In an interview with Merideth Viera on NBC this morning August 4, 2008, bureau chief Dr. Russell Byrne of the Fort Detrick lab, and boss of Dr. Ivins said:

" I don''t beleive anything the Government is saying about Bruce Ivins".

The most important statement of the NBC interview and
CBS does not report it.

Dr. Ivins was never indicted, testimony was three weeks away from completion..........

[neoconrcrazy]

"Among the other unanswered questions in the investigation is how Ivins could have created the fine anthrax powder that, distributed in the mail, killed five people and terrorized the nation. Ivins'' lab didn''t deal with powdered anthrax and there is disagreement over whether he could have created it - and if he did, how he kept it a secret. "


maybe he had an anthrax mill in his basement! Did the Feds check????

[txgrouch2006]

Why do neocons attack us?
Posted by downtowner97 at 12:46 PM : Aug 04, 2008

The same reason libtards do. They hate us for our freedom.

[txgrouch2006]

authorities found vials of anthrax in the Texas School Book Depository... Pictures of Ivins holding samples of the bacterium ... Dallas.
Posted by SistaTee at 12:31 PM : Aug 04, 2008

And yet, DESPITE the claims made above, Ivins was never arrested for this crime. I also was TOTALLY UNAWARE that Rite Aid pharmacies will mail-order ANTHRAX
Posted by prometheus41 at 12:45 PM : Aug 04, 2008
-----------------

GOTCHA!!! SistaTee''s post was A SATIRICAL JOKE comparing Ivin''s accusation and death to LEE HARVEY OSWALD being accused of assasinating JFK, but dying under unusual circumstances before he could be tried.

[txgrouch2006]

"Among the other unanswered questions in the investigation is how Ivins could have created the fine anthrax powder that, distributed in the mail, killed five people and terrorized the nation. Ivins'''' lab didn''''t deal with powdered anthrax and there is disagreement over whether he could have created it - and if he did, how he kept it a secret. "

Ivins was one who made idle threats all his life. But he NEVER carried them out. It would have been out of character for him to kill by mail.

After I first posted that, the next news item reported that he "attempted" to poison some individuals in the past. NO DETAILS WERE GIVEN.

Media hype??? What does "attempt" mean? That he purchased materials but never actually used them?

[jn122736]

so the bush henchmen want to "clear" this matter before leaving office.......the guys in the black hats get off their horses and swab the trial behind them with dry branches.....

guys, 7 years afterwards - no results - we got the uni-bomber but we couldn''''t get "anthrax-poisoner"?

when you don''''t want an answer, you drop the case.....
Posted by neoconRcrazy at 12:47 PM : Aug 04, 2008
~~~~~~~~~

neoconRcrazy;

WE must also remember that the attorney general and all investigative departments, CIA, FBI, et al, must answer to the president, who has the power to stall or even prohibit specific investigations.

If McCain wins, and he most likely will, then this administration has nothing to worry about, but that is a gamble they probably are not willing to take.

We desperately need a non-republican president and congress for the next several years to re-balance the justice system, especially the Supreme Court.

That is the ONLY chance we have of having any real investigations into 9/11, the anthrax issue, and many other corrupt activities of late.

[bobnjersey]

["People given these kinds of responsibilities, with this kind of power at their fingertips, we have to make sure that they are not likely to do harm to others or misuse that authority - be it intentionally or be it because of some mental problem," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. "These kinds of situations cry out for reexamination of our standards." ]

are you speaking of scientists ... or members of congress?

[andor3]

check it out-- his "therapist" who said all those bad things, is not a therapist at all, just a mysterious "social worker." This is like a movie script--some shady mental health workers tried to make him look crazy, but he was too sane for that to stick. So he "committs suicide." And those mental health professionals have disappeared--at "an undisclosed location." Why would they be hiding?

[jmurrieta1]

"The run up to the Invasion of Iraq was championed by mostly Jewish neo-conservatives, and a handful of oil cartel cronies. This terrorist attack, obviously an inside job, would go far to encourage an attack on Iraq and Iran. Seems a Jewish scientist at Fort Detrick might be a good suspect"--Posted by kassandrasdu


along with George (Moshe) Bushovich and Richard Shapiro-Cheney, no doubt?

[bobnjersey]

[Why do neocons attack us?
Posted by downtowner97 at 12:46 PM : Aug 04, 2008

The same reason libtards do. They hate us for our freedom.]
[Posted by txgrouch2006 at 12:56 PM : Aug 04, 2008]

what freedoms might those be ... freedom to overthrow foreign governments ... freedom to lie to the american electorate ... freedom to out cia operatives for political retaliation ... freedom to spy on americans ... freedom to ignore the constitution as it suits us, but use it to block their ability to see what we''re doing ... freedom to allow the ends to justify the means?

you mean these freedoms?

[mtracy9]

The anthrax attacks of October 2001 were obviously carried out by a neocon Black Op team in concert with the team that took down the WTC. The attacks were aimed at two Democratic Senators: Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy who were holding up the "Patriot Act" out of constitutional concerns. Just as bioweapons researcher Bruce Ivins was about to be charged with perpetrating the attacks, he commits suicide. His convenient death prevents any future investigation into the masterminds of the attacks.

[mtracy9]

The anthrax attacks of October 2001 were obviously carried out by a neocon Black Op team in concert with the team that took down the WTC. The attacks were aimed at two Democratic Senators: Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy who were holding up the "Patriot Act" out of constitutional concerns. Just as bioweapons researcher Bruce Ivins was about to be charged with perpetrating the attacks, he commits suicide. His convenient death prevents any future investigation into the masterminds of the attacks.

[mtracy9]

The anthrax attacks of October 2001 were obviously carried out by a neocon Black Op team in concert with the team that took down the WTC. The attacks were aimed at two Democratic Senators: Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy who were holding up the "Patriot Act" out of constitutional concerns. Just as bioweapons researcher Bruce Ivins was about to be charged with perpetrating the attacks, he commits suicide. His convenient death prevents any future investigation into the masterminds of the attacks.

[notfooled]

unanswered questions since 9/11:
-who were the people who hijacked the planes?
-who ordered the military to stand down on 9/11 because of so called war games?
-why are some of the alleged hijackers still alive?
-who mailed out the anthrax?
-why did the govt'''' try and convict an innocent person?
-why does the Justice Department refuse to charge bin laden with a crime connected to 9/11?
-why did bush have bi laden''''s family flown to saftey after 9/11, when all other flights were grounded?
-why did bush really invade Iraq?
-did bush really think there were wmds?
-if he did why did he try and deliberately fool the American people by having the Secratary of Defense call a weather balloon trailer a mobile weapons lab?
-why did the white house have network news run a story about the yellow cake from Iraq being sold to canada like this was evidence of saddam''''s wmd program when that yellow cake was handed over to inspectors by saddam long before the invasion?
-why did the bush administration refuse to allow the inspectors to finish their job, even when the iraqi''''s as well as the international inspection team said saddam was cooperating. remember saddam didn''''t kick them out, bush ordered them to leave?
-why hasn''''t bush or cheney been charged with leaking the name of a cia agent when thier is sufficient evidence to prove one or both of them did?
Posted by getoffmine at 01:32 PM : Aug 04, 2008

Dont believe a word the goverment says

[notfooled]

The anthrax attacks of October 2001 were obviously carried out by a neocon Black Op team in concert with the team that took down the WTC. The attacks were aimed at two Democratic Senators: Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy who were holding up the "Patriot Act" out of constitutional concerns. Just as bioweapons researcher Bruce Ivins was about to be charged with perpetrating the attacks, he commits suicide. His convenient death prevents any future investigation into the masterminds of the attacks.

Posted by mtracy9 at 02:53 PM : Aug 04, 2008

20 minutes BEFORE building #7 at the world trade center fell, the BBC announced that bldg #7 had fallen down.

10 minutes BEFORE bldg #7 fell down, a New York Fire Captain warns his men, "Move away from #7, they%u2019re gonna blow the bldg."

http://911blogger.com/node/10025

for both of the above facts RECORDED LIVE.

Until you do %u2013 you don%u2019t know the truth.

[downtowner97]

The anthrax letters were meant to scare lawmakers into signing the Patriot Act without reading it. I''m convinced of that.

I''m happy that such a high percentage of the posters on here are calling BS on this story. The fact that CBS is still keeping this story alive, is that they don''t buy it either. That being said, they need to dig deeper and get more experts to speak out on how this guy couldn''t have done this.

From Oswald, to McVey, to Foster, to Ivins, we can''t let investigations die with one man. Murder is murder no matter who is in charge.

[kenhamlett]

Skipping the actual investigation up to the time the FBI was "about to close in, this is what I see so far.
Mr Irvin was a friendly upbeat man from most accounts up until the time he became stressed by the strain of the investigation.
He made the mistake of attending GROUP therapy to relieve the stress. (Always a bad move)
So far ONLY Jean Dudly is named as seeing a homicidal maniac. We don''t know about the reports of psychiatrists from many years ago. In between these times he was a good guy as observed by friends.
His behavior change could have been from a combination of stress AND drugs but we don''t know that officially yet. You''ve read about antidepressants, I hope.
The DNA was of the anthrax spores not of him. The news sometimes misses that point.

So where are the other folks in the Group therapy session and what did they hear?
What did Dudly do to be the focus of Irvin''s alleged revenge?
What drugs was he taking. if any?
Only circumstantial evidence is known to show any link between Irvin and the attack. That might be enough for an indictment but probably not a conviction. His lawyer probably had it under control.

Tell me more folks. The only thing I see is a guy stressed out with cause, and a shrink making waves.
This is not enough info to explain any of these events.

[txgrouch2006]

what freedoms might those be
Posted by bobnjersey at 02:15 PM : Aug 04, 2008
---------------
LOL! I dunno, why not ask downtowner97 what freedoms HE is referring to when he has posted THE SAME THING A DOZEN TIMES A DAY.

And you never question HIM about what freedoms. LOL!

[txgrouch2006]

unanswered questions since 9/11
Posted by notfooled at 03:49 PM : Aug 04, 2008
----------------
WHY did the FAA do NOTHING in response when one of the 9/11 pilots was turned in FIVE TIMES for being unfit to hold the commercial license he had in 2000?

WHY did Bill Clinton INTENTIONALLY weaken the FBI and the FAA by EXECTUIVE ORDERS that cleared the way for the 9/11 attacks?

[jack773]

I remember when the anthrax attacks happened and they were looking for people all over the world, and I said Washingonian politicos should look right down the street because that''s where most anthrax is created. Well, the FBI, instead of looking at profiling the workers down the street (their own creation by the way) kept looking all over the world until this guy fell in their laps because of his suicide. It''s such a duh, and you conspiratorrialists are so dense! And they (FBI) say they were seriously looking at Ivins for the last year, but they were seriously looking at 200 other possibles as well. What a joke!

[samsel3]

In an interview with Merideth Viera on NBC August 4, 2008, bureau chief Dr. Russell Byrne of the Fort Detrick lab, and boss of Dr. Ivins said:

" I don''t beleive anything the Government is saying about Bruce Ivins".

The most important statement of the NBC interview and
CBS does not report it.

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.

[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. "