From the NYT:
The Justice Department announced Friday that it would pay $4.6 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Stephen J. Hatfill, a former Army biodefense researcher intensively investigated as a "person of interest" in the deadly anthrax letters of 2001.
The settlement called new attention to the fact that nearly seven years after the toxic letters were mailed, killing five people and sickening at least 17 others, the case has not been solved.
A Justice Department spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse, said in a statement that the government admitted no liability but decided settlement was "in the best interest of the United States."
"The government remains resolute in its investigation into the anthrax attacks, which killed five individuals and sickened others after lethal anthrax powder was sent through the United States mail," Mr. Roehrkasse said.
An F.B.I. spokesman, Jason Pack, said the anthrax investigation "is one of the largest and most complex investigations ever conducted by law enforcement" and is currently being pursued by more than 20 agents of the F.B.I. and the Postal Inspection Service.
"Solving this case is a top priority for the F.B.I. and for the family members of the victims who were killed," Mr. Pack said.
Uh-huh.
I would respectfully suggest that the size and complexity of the case could be made significantly more manageable if the FBI started looking for the likely culprit, rather than a patsy. The likely culprit is one (or more) members of a relatively small and easily identifiable population of researchers in the United States who have ready access to the requisite materials and the right training and experience to handle them.
He/she/they would no doubt have had extensive government background checks. The government should know where to find them in order to ask them to account for their whereabouts on the dates in question.
How hard could this be if the FBI really WANTED to find the person(s) responsible and not just a patsy?
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