Justice Department Retracts Court Filings That Undercut FBI’s Anthrax Case

[EFerrari]

This story was co-published with PBS FRONTLINE <1> and McClatchy <2>.

WASHINGTON -- Rushing into court to undo a major blunder, Justice Department lawyers defending a civil suit Tuesday retracted statements that question the FBI's finding that a former Army microbiologist mailed the anthrax-filled letters that killed five people in 2001.

But the unusual seven-page correction <3>, filed in federal court in Florida, does not erase testimony from government scientists who challenged the FBI's finding that the late Bruce Ivins was the perpetrator.

The department's legal dance stems from its two seemingly conflicting roles: backing up the FBI's finding that Ivins, who committed suicide in July 2008, was the killer and defending an Army bio-weapons lab at Fort Detrick, Md., against allegations of negligence.

The department's Civil Division is attempting to limit federal liability over the death of the first anthrax victim, a Boca Raton, Fla., man whose family is seeking $50 million in damages for alleged negligence by the lab at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), where Ivins worked on anthrax vaccines.

http://www.propublica.org/article/justice-department-retracts-court-filings-that-undercut-fbis-anthrax-case

[leveymg]

1. No doubt the anthrax came from Ft Detrick, so the gov't should simply settle. I still think

that there was a group of US Gov't employees who were behind this. This just reinforces that suspicion.

[EFerrari]

3. It's hard to believe that someone drove weaponized anthrax 200 miles

to Princeton, twice, leaving no trace anywhere.

[chill_wind]

2. Deeper and deeper through the looking glass.

K & R.

[EFerrari]

4. emptywheel disagrees with me but I thought it was just to limit

the government's liability in cases brought by the families of victims.

They want to have it both ways. Ivins used the lab at Ft Detrick to do the anthyrax attacks and he couldn't have used the lab at Ft. Detrick to do the anthrax attacks.

Looks like DoJ was counting on no one paying attention.