FBI Had Tossed Out Anthrax Strain Tied to Attacks

FBI Had Tossed Out Anthrax Strain Tied to अत्ताक्क्स

WASHINGTON -- Federal Bureau of Investigation scientists said investigative missteps, including destruction of an anthrax sample provided by their sole suspect, don't diminish conclusive evidence they contend solves the 2001 anthrax attacks.FBI officials held a briefing for reporters Monday to describe some details of the science behind their seven-year investigation, hoping to put to rest some of the skepticism about their case against Army biological-weapons scientist Bruce E. Ivins, who investigators say carried out the attacks through two batches of anthrax-laced letters.

The briefing raised new questions after FBI officials disclosed they destroyed an initial sample Dr. Ivins, 62 years old, submitted because he didn't abide by protocols for evidence. A copy of the sample was sent to an outside laboratory and was preserved. Years later, after it was analyzed, the sample turned out to be an important piece of evidence tying Dr. Ivins to the anthrax found in the mailings, investigators say.

FBI officials say the destruction didn't delay their investigation because there were other technical limitations to resolve before the sample could be conclusively analyzed. It took years, officials say, for the microbial-forensics field to develop methods used in analyzing the anthrax.

"Looking at hindsight, we would do things differently today," said Dr. Vahid Majidi, FBI assistant director for weapons of mass destruction. "Were we perfect? Absolutely not. We had missteps."

The anthrax mailings in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks killed five people and sickened 17. Dr. Ivins, an anthrax expert at the U.S. Army's biodefense facility at Fort Detrick, Md., committed suicide last month after investigators notified him they planned to seek an indictment against him.

Dr. Ivins's lawyer says the Army scientist was innocent. Some scientists and lawmakers have raised doubts about the FBI's case.

The major scientific findings underpinning their case, FBI officials said, was that after years of analysis they found that the anthrax used in the mailings had four specific characteristics that only matched anthrax to which Dr. Ivins had access.

More than 100 people had access to the same anthrax, FBI officials acknowledge. Investigators spent a year eliminating other suspects and concluded Dr. Ivins was their sole suspect. FBI officials say they plan to release more evidence to explain how they eliminated other suspects.

The 2002 episode is an important part of the probe. Investigators have described the sample submissions as an attempt by Dr. Ivins to deceive them.

Paul Kemp, attorney for Dr. Ivins, dismissed the FBI's assertions, saying Dr. Ivins wasn't trying to deceive investigators. "They're coming up with an attempted explanation for them destroying evidence back in 2002."

FBI officials said the bureau destroyed the initial 2002 anthrax sample that Dr. Ivins submitted because he didn't follow the guidelines in a subpoena. It is a common move, FBI officials say, because using such a sample would compromise the science and the investigative work.

Dr. Ivins, as instructed, submitted a copy of the sample to Paul Keim, a Northern Arizona University scientist who was a top consultant to the FBI probe. It was that sample that was found years later to tie Dr. Ivins to the attacks.

Dr. Majidi says he knows some skeptics won't be satisfied. "We've had missteps, and those are the lessons learned that are incorporated into today's approach," he said.