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The Justice Department has agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle a lawsuit with former Army scientist Steven Hatfill, who was named as a person of interest in the 2001 anthrax attacks…
The deal requires the Justice Department to pay $2.825 million dollars up front and buy Hatfill a $3 million annuity that will pay him $150,000 each year for 20 years…
Five people were killed and 17 sickened by anthrax that was mailed to lawmakers on Capitol Hill and members of the news media in New York and Florida just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
After the attacks, Attorney General John Ashcroft called Hatfill “a person of interest” in the investigation and stories by various reporters followed. Hatfill had worked at the Army’s infectious diseases laboratory from 1997 to 1999. The anthrax attacks remain unsolved.
The settlement likely also means that former USA Today reporter Toni Locy will no longer face up to $5,000-a-day in fines in the case. A federal judge ordered her to identify the officials who discussed Hatfill. When she said she couldn’t remember, the judge ordered her to identify all her sources on the anthrax case.
I have to wonder how many unproductive millions were spent in the search for the real culprit. Uh, the snoop-suits did follow other leads. Right?
Did they also end up having to pay that guy in Atlanta they tried to pin the Olympic Park bombings on? If I recall, he was a security guard or something. For some reason the name “Richard Jewell” comes to mind. I could and most probably am wrong.
Also, if I recall correctly, it turned out to be the Christian anti-abortion nutter/mountain man who did it. Terry something or other I think.
If I remember right, they did have to pay him. I do remember lawsuits being filed, and I recall a settlement.
I thought the new terminology of “person of interest” was to avoid the liability of calling someone a suspect?
I wonder how much money they saved by that switch in wording?
I guess the rule now is you can’t say nuttin bout nobody until they are charged?
Richard Jewell’s cases: http://tinyurl.com/69br7x
Jewell passed away last August. Poor guy…
I don’t know if the Justice Dept had to pay Richard Jewell, but NBC and CNN did. NBC had to pay more than $500,000. Jewell also had a law suit against the Atlanta Journal newspaper. Unfortunately, Jewell died with the case still pending.
#3 – Well, considering defamation of character lawsuits due slander and libel, and the resulting penalties from the Richard Jewell case, it was definitely in their best interests to reinvent the terminology.
Whats with all the 13’s in the headlines of late.
[Huh? – ed.]
I recall reading quite a bit about Hatfill at the time of the investigation. If he didn’t do it, or wasn’t at least involved in it, there are some amazing coincidences to explain.
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/anthraxsuspect.html
#3 – bobbo – I thought the new terminology of “person of interest” was to avoid the liability of calling someone a suspect?
Calling the person a terrorist works fine too.
I don’t tend to conspiracy theories but, I have to say, this story is ripe for it.
Five people dead from government anthrax and they have no leads? Are they even looking?
Dick Cheney surely is on a short list for this.
At the time this happened, the people running the intelligence operations were being told to put together a story to back an invasion of Iraq. Bush didn’t want the public hearing about domestic terrorism – just Saddam Hussein, 24/7. As a result I suspect this case simply never received the resources it would have taken to solve it.
I believe future historians will decide that Hatfill was the guy.
We all know the Bush Administration greenlighted the ham-handed fake terrorist anthrax letters. The silly “death to America, Death to Israel” notes smack of a poorly run incompetent intelligence agency trying to convince Americans that somehow Osama did it. Whats truly sad is most americans do believe it.
There’s a strange thing going on in this country. Christian fundamentalists are in charge now, and a huge bloc of the American public believe in the return of jesus in their lifetimes. This is why they unabashedly support israel (even though israeli jews really hate us…they know we want to convert them) to ensure that the tribulation is on its way.
This terrorist fakery is part of the deal. Islam is seen as a threat to the globalization of christianity, and must be dealt with even if what you do is illegal, immoral, or downright evil. only end-of-days objectives matter
Can I now be a “person of interest” in some big Govt. coverup?
Please? Please!!??
ed. “huh?”
8+5=13. Look for it 😉
It took long enough.
Now, what the eff do I do with all this plastic sheeting and duct tape I bought? Remember? Just in case?
Anywhere there’s been lots of cows, you can probably culture anthrax out of the fucking dirt.
There’s usually several cases a year, mostly non-fatal, in people who work with cattle. Hey, with all the antibiotics they put in livestock feed nowadays, it’s probably self weaponizing.
And to think I’ve been worried about bird flu.
The anthrax in the letters was weaponized, and only 2 nations can successfully mill anthrax to the quality level seen in the letters.
1) USA
2) Russia
Russia doesn’t hand out its anthrax to anybody. They didn’t even trust their old warsaw pact “allies” back then.
All of Saddam’s anthrax was total poor quality crap.