Bruce Edwards Ivins
Bruce Edwards Ivins | |
---|---|
Ivins at a 2003 awards ceremony at USAMRIID | |
Born |
Lebanon, Ohio, U.S. | April 22, 1946
Died |
July 29, 2008 62) Frederick Memorial Hospital Frederick, Maryland, U.S. | (aged
Cause of death | Suicide by overdose |
Nationality | American |
Education | University of Cincinnati (Ph.D.) |
Employer | United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases |
Bruce Edwards Ivins (April 22, 1946 – July 29, 2008)[1] was an American microbiologist, vaccinologist,[1] senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, Maryland, and the key suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks.[2]
On July 29, 2008, he died of an overdose of Tylenol with codeine in an apparent suicide after learning that criminal charges were likely to be filed against him by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for an alleged criminal connection to the 2001 anthrax attacks.[3][4][5] No formal charges were ever actually filed against him for the crime, and no direct evidence of his involvement has been uncovered.[6]
At a news conference at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on August 6, 2008, FBI and DOJ officials formally announced that the Government had concluded that Ivins was likely solely responsible for "the deaths of five persons, and the injury of dozens of others, resulting from the mailings of several anonymous letters to members of Congress and members of the media in September and October 2001, which letters contained Bacillus anthracis, commonly referred to as anthrax."[7][8] On February 19, 2010, the FBI released a 92-page summary of evidence against Ivins and announced that it had concluded its investigation.[9][10] The FBI conclusions have been contested by many, including senior microbiologists, the widow of one of the victims,[11] and several prominent American politicians. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) who was among the targets in the attack, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), former Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ), and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)[6][12][13] all argued that Ivins was not solely responsible for the attacks.
The FBI subsequently requested a panel from the National Academy of Sciences to review its scientific work on the case.[14] On May 15, 2011, the panel released its findings, which "conclude[d] that the bureau overstated the strength of genetic analysis linking the mailed anthrax to a supply kept by Bruce E. Ivins."[6][15] The committee stated that its primary finding was that "it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the B. anthracis in the mailings based on the available scientific evidence alone."[12][13][16][17][18][19][20][21]
Early and family life
Bruce Ivins was born, and spent his youth, in Lebanon, Ohio, a small town 30 miles northeast of Cincinnati.[22] His parents were Thomas Randall Ivins and Mary Johnson (nee Knight) Ivins, and he was the youngest of three brothers.[1] His father, a pharmacist, owned a drugstore and was active in the local Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce. The family went regularly to Lebanon Presbyterian Church, although Ivins was later a Catholic parishioner.[23] According to C.W. Ivins, one of Ivins' older brothers, their mother Mary was violent and physically abusive to all three children. When she discovered she was pregnant with Bruce, a pregnancy that was unplanned and unwanted, she repeatedly tried to abort the child by throwing herself down a set of stairs. Ivins would eventually hear the story of his mother's attempt to abort him.[22]
Avidly interested in science, Ivins was an active participant in extracurricular activities in high school, including National Honor Society, science fairs, the current events club, and the scholarship team all four years. He ran on the track and cross-country teams, worked on the yearbook and school newspaper, and was in the school choir and junior and senior class plays.[23]
In December 1975, Ivins married nursing student Mary Diane Betsch (known as Diane), to whom he remained married until his death.[1][24] The couple had two children.[1][23][25] Diane Ivins was a homemaker and full time parent who also ran a daycare center out of the family's home.[26] His wife, children, and brothers were all still alive at the time of his death; his parents were deceased.[1]
Education and career
Ivins graduated with honors from the University of Cincinnati with a B.S. degree in 1968, an M.S. degree in 1971, and a Ph.D. degree in 1976, all in microbiology.[2] Ivins conducted his Ph.D. research under the supervision of Dr. Peter F. Bonventre. His dissertation focused on different aspects of toxicity in disease-causing bacteria.[23]
Ivins was a scientist for 36 years[1] and senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland for 18 years.[2] After conducting research on Legionella and cholera, in 1979, Ivins turned his attention to anthrax after the anthrax outbreak in the Soviet city of Sverdlovsk (now known as Yekaterinburg), which killed at least 105 after an accidental release at a military facility.[25]
Ivins had published at least 44 scientific papers dating back to May 18, 1969.[27][28] His earliest known published work pertained to the response of peritoneal macrophages, a type of white blood cell, to infection by Chlamydia psittaci, an infectious bacterium that can be transmitted from animals to humans.[29][30] He was the co-author of numerous anthrax studies, including one on a treatment for inhalational anthrax published in the July 7, 2008 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.[5] He often cited the 2001 anthrax attacks in his papers to bolster the significance of his research in years subsequent to the attacks.[31] In a 2006 paper published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he wrote with his co-authors
Shortening the duration of antibiotic postexposure prophylaxis in a bioterrorism event involving B. anthracis by adding postexposure vaccination could greatly alleviate problems of noncompliance and side effects associated with prolonged antibiotic therapy. The value of adding vaccination to postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis should be considered in planning the public health response to bioterrorism events involving inhalational anthrax.[31]
Ivins was a co-inventor on two United States patents for anthrax vaccine technology, U.S. Patent 6,316,006 and U.S. Patent 6,387,665. Both of these patents are owned by his employer at the time, the United States Army.
On March 14, 2003, Ivins and two of his colleagues at USAMRIID at Fort Detrick received the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service — the highest award given to Defense Department civilian employees — for helping solve technical problems in the manufacture of anthrax vaccines.[32]
Alleged involvement in 2001 anthrax attacks and investigations
The 2001 anthrax attacks involved the mailing of several letters proclaiming "Death to America ... Death to Israel ... Allah is Great",[33] and contaminated with anthrax, to the offices of U.S. Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, as well as to the offices of ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer.[34][35]
Initial investigative role
Ivins became involved in the investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks because he was regarded as a skilled microbiologist.[2] Starting in mid-October, Ivins and his colleagues worked long hours testing samples to distinguish real anthrax letters from the numerous hoaxes that were sent out at this time.[36] Ivins also helped the FBI analyze the powdery material recovered from one of the anthrax-tainted envelopes sent to a U.S. senator's office in Washington, D.C.[2]
Results of the investigation were initially distributed to the public via ABC News claiming "four well placed sources" attesting to the fact that "trace amounts of the chemical additives bentonite" were found in the anthrax samples, and that this was the chemical signature of Iraqi-made anthrax.[33] It has been confirmed that bentonite was never actually found in the anthrax samples.[33] While it is presumed that Ivins was one of ABC News' four sources, ABC News has refused to reveal their identities, which has contributed to the mystery of Ivins' role in the initial investigation and its widely reported findings.[33]
2002 Fort Detrick anthrax containment breach
In 2002, an investigation was carried out as a result of an incident at Fort Detrick where anthrax spores had escaped carefully guarded rooms into the building's unprotected areas.[37] The incident called into question the ability of USAMRIID to keep its deadly agents within laboratory walls seven months after the anthrax mailings.
A coworker reportedly told Ivins that she was concerned she was exposed to anthrax spores when handling an anthrax-contaminated letter. Ivins tested the technician's desk area that December and found growth that had the earmarks of anthrax. He decontaminated her desk, computer, keypad and monitor, but did not notify his superiors.[37]
2008 investigation
For six years, the FBI focused its investigation on Steven Hatfill, considering him to be the chief suspect in the attacks. In March 2008, however, authorities exonerated Hatfill and settled a lawsuit he initiated for $5.8 million.[38] According to ABC News, some in the FBI considered Ivins a suspect as early as 2002.[39] FBI Director Robert Mueller changed leadership of the investigation in late 2006, and at that time Ivins became the main focus of the investigation.[2]
After Hatfill was no longer considered a suspect, Ivins began "showing signs of serious strain".[40] As a result of his changed behavior, he lost access to sensitive areas at his job. He began being treated for depression and expressed some suicidal thoughts.[2] On March 19, 2008, police were summoned to Ivins' home in Frederick, found him unconscious, and sent him to the hospital.[23]
In June 2008, Ivins was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. The FBI said that during a June 5 group therapy session there, Ivins had a conversation with a witness, during which he made a series of statements about the anthrax mailings that the FBI said could best be characterized as "non-denial denials".[41] When asked about the anthrax attacks and whether he could have had anything to do with them, the FBI said that Ivins admitted he suffered from loss of memory, stating that he would wake up dressed and wonder if he had gone out during the night. His responses allegedly included the following:
- "I can tell you I don't have it in my heart to kill anybody"
- "I do not have any recollection of ever have doing anything like that. As a matter of fact, I don't have no clue how to, how to make a bio-weapon and I don't want to know."
- "I can tell you, I am not a killer at heart"
- "If I found out I was involved in some way, and, and ..."
- "I don't think of myself as a vicious, a, a nasty evil person."
- "I don't like to hurt people, accidentally, in, in any way. And [several scientists at USAMRIID] wouldn't do that. And I, in my right mind wouldn't do it [laughs] ... But it's still, but I still feel responsibility because it [the anthrax] wasn't locked up at the time ..."
Late in July 2008, investigators informed Ivins of his impending prosecution for alleged involvement in the 2001 anthrax attacks that Ivins himself had previously assisted authorities in investigating. It has been reported that the death penalty would have been sought in the case.[42] Ivins maintained his security clearance until July 10; he had been publicly critical of the laboratory's security procedures for several years.[43]
Dr. W. Russell Byrne, a colleague who worked in the bacteriology division of the Fort Detrick research facility, said FBI agents "hounded" Ivins by twice raiding his home and that Ivins had been hospitalized for depression earlier in the month.[44] According to Byrne and local police, Ivins had been removed from his workplace out of fears that he might harm himself or others. "I think he was just psychologically exhausted by the whole process", Byrne said.[45] "There are people who you just know are ticking bombs", Byrne said. "He was not one of them."[46] However, Tom Ivins, who last spoke to his brother in 1985, said, "It makes sense ... he considered himself like a god".[47][48]
The Los Angeles Times asserted that Ivins stood to profit from the attacks because he was a co-inventor on two patents for a genetically-engineered anthrax vaccine. San Francisco-area biotechnology company VaxGen licensed the vaccine and won a federal contract valued at $877.5 million to provide the vaccine under the Project Bioshield Act.[49] However, biological warfare and anthrax vaccine expert Dr. Meryl Nass has expressed skepticism of this purported motive, pointing out that "Historically, government employees do not receive these royalties: the government does."[50]
On August 6, 2008, US Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor, officially made a statement that Ivins was the "sole culprit" in the 2001 anthrax attacks.[51] Taylor stated that Ivins had submitted false anthrax evidence to throw investigators off of his trail, was unable to adequately explain his late laboratory working hours around the time of the attacks, tried to frame his co-workers, had immunized himself against anthrax in early September 2001, was one of more than 100 people with access to the same strain of anthrax used in the killings, and had used similar language in an email to that in one of the anthrax mailings.[52] Ivins was also reportedly upset that the anthrax vaccine that he had spent years helping develop was being pulled from the market.[53]
Death
On the morning of July 27, 2008, Ivins was found unconscious at his home. He was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital and died on July 29 from what was then called an overdose of Tylenol with codeine,[5][54] an apparent suicide. No autopsy was ordered following his death because, according to an officer in the local police department, the state medical examiner "determined that an autopsy wouldn't be necessary" based on laboratory test results of blood taken from the body.[55] A summary of the police report of his death, released in 2009, lists the cause of death as liver and kidney failure, citing his purchase of two bottles of Tylenol PM (containing diphenhydramine), contradicting earlier reports of Tylenol with codeine.[56] His family declined to put him on the liver transplant list, and he was removed from life support.[56]
Immediately after news of his death, the FBI refused to comment on the situation.[5] Ivins' attorney released a statement asserting that Ivins had co-operated with the six-year investigation by the FBI and asserting that Ivins was innocent in the deaths.[57]
Anthrax investigation, post-death
Criticism of the official findings
Paul Kemp, Ivins' attorney, stated that the government's case against Ivins was "not convincing". Department of Justice official Dean Boyd stated that Ivins mailed anthrax to NBC in retaliation for an investigation of Ivins' laboratory's work on anthrax conducted by Gary Matsumoto, a former NBC news journalist. At the time, however, Matsumoto was working for ABC, not NBC. Also, Ivins passed a lie detector test in which he was questioned about his possible participation in the anthrax attacks. Boyd responded by saying that the FBI now believes that Ivins used countermeasures to deceive the polygraph examiners. "There are clearly a lot of unanswered questions," said Senator Chuck Grassley, who called for a congressional investigation into the allegations that Ivins was the anthrax killer.[58]
Those who argue for Ivins' innocence claim that the anthrax used in the attacks was too sophisticated to be produced by a lone researcher without relevant training. "In my opinion, there are maybe four or five people in the whole country who might be able to make this stuff, and I'm one of them," said Richard O. Spertzel, former deputy commander of USAMRIID.[59] "And even with a good lab and staff to help run it, it might take me a year to come up with a product as good."[59] The spores in the Daschle letter were 1.5 to 3 micrometres across, many times smaller than the finest known grade of anthrax produced by either the US or Soviet bioweapons programs.[59] An electron microscope, which costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, would be needed to verify that the target spore size had been consistently achieved.[59] The presence of the anti-clumping additive silicon in the anthrax samples also suggests a high degree of sophistication as specialists working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory were unable to duplicate this property despite 56 attempts.[60]
While not outright rejecting the theory of Ivins' involvement, Senator Leahy has asserted that "if he is the one who sent the letter, I do not believe in any way, shape or manner that he is the only person involved in this attack on Congress and the American people. I do not believe that at all."[61]
Allegations of mental illness
On August 6, 2008, the FBI released a collection of emails written by Ivins.[62] In some, Ivins describes episodes of anxiety, paranoia, and depression for which he was medicated;[63] these are referenced in the summary of the case against Ivins. A clinical psychiatrist engaged by The New York Times to analyze the released documents found evidence of psychoses, but could not rule out the possibility that Ivins was feigning or exaggerating mental illness for purposes of attention or sympathy.[64]
A United States government investigative panel, called the Expert Behavioral Analysis Panel, issued a report in March 2011 which detailed more of Ivins' mental health issues. According to the panel's report, the Army did not examine Ivins' background adequately before clearing him to work with anthrax: such clearance should not have been given. The report endorses the government's implication of Ivins: circumstantial evidence from Ivins' psychiatric history supported the conclusion that Ivins was the anthrax killer.[65][66][67]
Allegations by Ivins' counselor
One of the most contested elements of the Ivins case involves the testimony of his former therapist, social worker Jean C. Duley. Documents show that Ivins was ordered late in July 2008 to stay away from Duley,[68] In her handwritten application for a protective order, Duley wrote that Ivins had stalked and threatened to kill her and had a long history of homicidal threats.[23] However, in her testimony, Duley also stated that she had only known Ivins for six months.[69]
Duley had been set to give testimony against Ivins on August 1, 2008.[47] Ivins, however, had no criminal record, whereas Duley herself has a history of convictions for driving under the influence and charges of battery by her ex-husband.[70] The charges forced her to quit her job, and attorney costs used up her savings, according to her fiance.[70] In a 1999 newspaper interview, Duley described herself as a former motorcycle gang member and drug user: "Heroin. Cocaine. PCP. You name it, I did it."[71] According to an article originally appearing in the August 12, 2009 Frederick News-Post, Duley was under house arrest when she tape recorded Ivins' allegedly "threatening" messages.[72] The Frederick News-Post also made available a recording of the allegedly threatening calls.[73] The nature of the actual audio recordings was characterized in the published report as "No threats are made or implied in the messages. More the sad ramblings of a broken man who felt betrayed."[72]
In her July 2008 restraining order Duley alleged that Ivins "has a history dating to his graduate days of homicidal threats, actions, plans, threats & actions towards theripist" (sic). According to Duley, "Dr. David Irwin his psychiatrist called him homicidal, sociopathic with clear intentions" (sic) and she would "tetisfy with other details" (sic).[74] She further alleged a "detailed homicidal plan" to kill his co-workers after learning he was going to be indicted on capital murder charges and stated that, upon hearing of his possible indictment, Ivins had purchased a gun and a bulletproof vest.[75] Ivins was subsequently committed for psychiatric evaluation, and his home was raided by federal agents who confiscated ammunition and a bulletproof vest.[76] He was released from his committal on July 24, five days before his death.
Statement by Henry S. Heine
Dr. Henry S. Heine, a microbiologist who was Ivins' fellow researcher at the Army Medical Research Institute, told a National Academy of Sciences panel on April 22, 2010 that he considered it impossible that Ivins could have produced the anthrax used in the attacks without detection.[14]
Heine told the 16-member National Academy of Sciences panel that producing the quantity of spores in the letters would have taken at least a year of intensive work using the equipment at the U.S. Army laboratory. Such an effort would not have escaped colleagues' notice, and laboratory technicians who worked closely with Dr. Ivins have told him they saw no such work.[14]
Heine also disputed the notion that biological containment measures where Ivins worked were inadequate to prevent the spores from floating out of the laboratory into animal cages and offices. He told the panel that if the containment was inadequate, "You'd have had dead animals or dead people".[14]
Heine said he did not dispute that there was a genetic link between the spores in the letters and the anthrax in Ivins' flask, which led the FBI to conclude that Ivins had grown the spores from a sample taken from the flask. Heine pointed out that samples from the flask were widely shared. Accusing Ivins of the attacks, he said, was like tracing a murder to the clerk at the sporting goods shop who sold the bullets.[14]
Asked by reporters after his testimony whether he believed there was any chance that Ivins had carried out the attacks, Heine replied, "Absolutely not." At the Army's biodefense laboratory, he said, "among the senior scientists, no one believes it."[14]
National Academy of Sciences scientific evidence review
The FBI asked the National Academy of Sciences to review the FBI's scientific work on the case. A panel was created, chaired by Alice P. Gast, president of Lehigh University.[14] On May 15, 2011 the panel released its findings, which "conclude[d] that the bureau overstated the strength of genetic analysis linking the mailed anthrax to a supply kept by Bruce E. Ivins."[6]
Calls for further investigation
Following the release of a National Academy of Sciences report in February 2011, Congressman Rush D. Holt, Jr. (D-NJ), a physicist from whose district the anthrax letters were mailed, re-introduced legislation "to create a 9/11-style Commission, complete with subpoena power, with a mandate to review the entire matter."[6] Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa told The Washington Post: "There are no more excuses for avoiding an independent review."[6] Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who has been vocal in his criticism of the anthrax investigation,[70][77][78][79][80] argued that "[o]ther than a desire to avoid finding out who the culprit was (or to avoid having the FBI's case against Ivins subjected to scrutiny), there's no rational reason to oppose an independent investigation into this matter."[6]
Interests and beliefs
Personal life
Ivins was a Roman Catholic. The Frederick News-Post has made public several letters to the editor written by Ivins dealing with his religious views.[81] These were cited in the Department of Justice summary of the case against Ivins as suggesting that he may have harbored a grudge against pro-choice Catholic senators Daschle and Leahy, recipients of anthrax mailings.[63] In a letter expressing his belief that Jews were God's chosen people, Ivins stated, "By blood and faith, Jews are God's chosen, and have no need for 'dialogue' with any gentile."[82] Ivins praised a rabbi for refusing a dialogue with a Muslim cleric.[82]
His pastimes included playing keyboard at his local church, Saint John the Evangelist;[1] he was a member of the American Red Cross;[1] he was an avid juggler and founder of the Frederick Jugglers.[23] He played keyboards in a Celtic band and would often compose and play songs for coworkers who were moving to new jobs.[23][25]
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Wikipedia editing
Wikinews has related news: Alleged Anthrax killer Bruce Ivins reportedly made edits to Wikipedia |
Ivins was reportedly obsessed with the college sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) ever since he was rebuffed by a woman in the sorority during his days as a student at the University of Cincinnati.[83][84] According to The Smoking Gun, U.S. Government court documents stated that Ivins edited the KKG article on Wikipedia using the account name "Jimmyflathead", by which he made a number of edits that put derogatory information about the sorority into the article and engaged in some disputes and discussions[85][86] about the content of the article.[86][87]
The FBI claims, because anthrax spores were found in a postal drop box located 300 feet (91 m) away from Princeton University's Kappa Kappa Gamma storage facility (where the Sorority keeps rush paraphernalia, initiation robes and other materials), that the anthrax laced letters had been mailed from that drop box.[88] As of this date, leaks from the law enforcement community claim they have not been able to place Ivins in Princeton, New Jersey the day the letters were mailed. Katherine Breckinridge Graham, an advisor to Kappa's Princeton chapter, stated that there was nothing to indicate that any of the sorority members had anything to do with Ivins.[84] Officials claim that the sorority link helps explain why the letters were mailed from Princeton, 200 miles (320 km) from the Fort Detrick laboratory in Frederick, Maryland, where Ivins worked and where it is claimed the anthrax was produced.
A United States government investigative panel, called the Expert Behavioral Analysis Panel, issued a report in March 2011 which detailed more of Ivins' obsession with the sorority. According to the panel's report, Ivins tormented a sorority member at the University of North Carolina named Nancy Haigwood. Ivins stole her notebook, which documented her research for her doctoral studies, and vandalized her residence.[65]
Biography
In 2011, journalist David Willman's book on Ivins, The Mirage Man: Bruce Ivins, the Anthrax Attacks, and America's Rush to War, was published. The book details Ivin's troubled history and mental problems.[89]
Patents
- U.S. Patent 6,316,006 November 13, 2001 Asporogenic B anthracis expression system
- U.S. Patent 6,387,665 May 14, 2002 Method of making a vaccine for anthrax
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Obituary: Dr. Bruce Edwards Ivins". Frederick News-Post. 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Willman, David (2008-08-01). "Apparent suicide in anthrax case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ↑ Apuzzo, Matt & Dishneau, David (2008-08-01). "U.S. wanted death penalty in anthrax case". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
Federal prosecutors investigating the 2001 anthrax attacks were planning to indict and seek the death penalty against a top Army microbiologist who was developing a vaccine against the deadly toxin.
- ↑ Willman, David (2008-09-18). "Senators question FBI's handling of anthrax inquiry". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
Ivins, 62, committed suicide July 29. His former lawyers have said they would have won his acquittal at a trial.
- 1 2 3 4 Jordan, Lara Jakes; David Dishneau (2008-08-01). "Anthrax scientist commits suicide as FBI closes in". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
A top U.S. biodefense researcher apparently committed suicide just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him in the anthrax mailings that traumatized the nation in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a published report.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Greenwald, Glenn (2011-02-16) Serious doubt cast on FBI's anthrax case against Bruce Ivans, Salon.com
- ↑ Carrie Johnson, Mary Beth Sheridan and William Branigin (August 6, 2008). "Officials Say Scientist Was Solely Responsible for Anthrax Attacks". The Washington Post.
- ↑ "Government's Omnibus Motion to Unseal Search Warrants and Accompanying Documents, and Memorandum of Law In Support Thereof" (PDF). US District Court for the District of Columbia.
- ↑ Joby Warrick (February 20, 2010). "FBI investigation of 2001 anthrax attacks concluded; U.S. releases details". The Washington Post.
- ↑ United States Department of Justice (February 19, 2010). "AMERITHRAX Investigative Summary" (PDF).
- ↑ Widow of anthrax victim doubts FBI's conclusion, Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2011. Archived May 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 Congressman presses FBI for anthrax information, Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers, Miami Herald, May 26, 2011.
- 1 2 Rep. Nadler Criticizes FBI in Letter to Director Mueller Over Anthrax Probe, Allan Lengel, Ticklethewire.com, May 2011. (includes complete text of letter from Rep. Jerrold Nadler)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Scott Shane (Apr 23, 2010). "Colleague Disputes Case Against Anthrax Suspect". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
- ↑ "National-Academies.org - Where the Nation Turns for Independent, Expert Advice". nationalacademies.org.
- ↑ Alice P. Gast, chair, David A. Relman, vice chair, Opening statement for Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI’s Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax Letters, National Research Council, Board on Life Sciences, Committee on Science, Technology, and Law, February 15, 2011.
- ↑ Anthrax panel led by Gast releases report, Lehigh University, February 15, 2011.
- ↑ Public Briefing of National Research Council Review of Science in FBI's Anthrax Case (Video) Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine., National Research Council, February 15, 2011.
- ↑ Expert Panel Is Critical of F.B.I. Work in Investigating Anthrax Letters
- ↑ FBI lab reports on anthrax attacks suggest another miscue, Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers, May 19, 2011.
- ↑ Disturbing questions haunt anthrax killings inquiry, Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers, Kansas City Star, May 19, 2011.
- 1 2 The Anthrax Killings: A Troubled Tind by David Willman, Los Angeles Times, May 29, 2011
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Warrick, Joby; Marilyn W. Thompson; Nelson Hernandez (August 2, 2008). "A Scientist's Quiet Life Took A Darker Turn". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- ↑ Willman, David (2011). The Mirage Man: Bruce Ivins, the Anthrax Attacks, and America's Rush to War. Random House Publishing Group. p. 18. ISBN 0-345-53021-7.
- 1 2 3 Abruzzese, Sarah; Eric Lipton (August 2, 2008). "In Death Of Suspect, A Dark End For A Family Man And Community Volunteer". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- ↑ "Ivins had mild persona, but some saw dark side", David Dishneau, Associated Press, August 2, 2008 Archived September 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Ivins". PubMed. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ↑ "Anthrax suspect was a prolific scientific author". Associated Press. August 4, 2004. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
Suspected anthrax mailer Bruce Ivins was a prolific contributor to research articles in the arcane field of deadly pathogens, and was named as a co-author in more than 40 studies published in scientific journals since the late 1960s.
- ↑ Ivins BE, Wyrick PB (November 1978). "Response of C3H/HeJ and C3H/HeN mice and their peritoneal macrophages to the toxicity of Chlamydia psittaci elementary bodies". Infect. Immun. 22 (2): 620–2. PMC 422200 . PMID 730377.
- ↑ Wyrick PB, Brownridge EA, Ivins BE (March 1978). "Interaction of Chlamydia psittaci with mouse peritoneal macrophages". Infect. Immun. 19 (3): 1061–7. PMC 422296 . PMID 565339.
- 1 2 Vietri, N. J.; Purcell, BK; Lawler, JV; Leffel, EK; Rico, P; Gamble, CS; Twenhafel, NA; Ivins, BE; et al. (May 2006). "Short-course postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis combined with vaccination protects against experimental inhalational anthrax". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103 (20): 7813–6. PMC 1472527 . PMID 16672361. doi:10.1073/pnas.0602748103.
- ↑ Vander Linden, Caree (March 19, 2003). "USAMRIID employees earn top civilian award". dcmilitary.com. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- 1 2 3 4 "Vital unresolved anthrax questions and ABC News". Salon.com. August 6, 2008.
- ↑ Revkin, Andrew C.; Canedy, Dana (2001-12-05). "A Nation Challenged: The Disease. Anthrax Pervades Florida Site, and Experts See Likeness to That Sent to Senators". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ↑ "Timeline: How The Anthrax Terror Unfolded". NPR.org. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ↑ From a Helper to the Suspect in the Anthrax Case" New York Times]
- 1 2 Walker, Allison. "What went wrong". Frederick News-Post. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
- ↑ "Anthrax Scientist Reported to Kill Self". Associated Press. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
Last month, the Justice Department cleared Ivins' colleague, Steven Hatfill, who had been wrongly suspected in the case, and paid him $5.8 million.
- ↑ Ross, Brian (August 1, 2008). "Anthrax Suspect Under Scrutiny Since 2002". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
Bruce E. Ivins, had been under suspicion by some FBI agents since early 2002 when anthrax spores were found near his desk, but FBI supervisors were more focused then on another scientist, Steven Hatfill, and dismissed concerns about Ivins, federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News.
- ↑ Willman, David (2008-08-01). "Apparent suicide in anthrax case". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ FBI Summary Report pp. 70-71.
- ↑ Thompson, Marilyn W.; Goldstein, Amy (August 2, 2008). "Scientist in anthrax case had darker side". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
However, several US officials said prosecutors had been closing in on Ivins and planned to seek an indictment and the death penalty.
- ↑ Johnson, Carrie, Marilyn W. Thompson and Joby Warrick. "Researcher Kept Security Clearance as FBI Closed In." The Washington Post. August 4, 2008.
- ↑ Gallucci-White, Gina (2008-08-01). "BREAKING NEWS: Detrick anthrax scientist commits suicide as FBI closes in". Frederick News-Post.
- ↑ "Two portraits of anthrax suspect". TODAY. MSNBC. Associated Press. 2008-08-01.
- ↑ While Media Spotlights One Anthrax Suspect, Another Is Too Hot to Touch Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September/October 2002, Vol. 21 Issue 7, p18
- 1 2 "Two portraits of anthrax suspect: Some say he had mild persona, brother says: He considered himself 'a god'". Associated Press. August 1, 2008. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ↑ "Two portraits of anthrax suspect". msnbc.com.
- ↑ Williams, David (August 2, 2008). "Anthrax scientist Bruce Ivins stood to benefit from a panic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
Ivins is listed as a co-inventor on two patents for a genetically engineered anthrax vaccine, federal records show. Separately, Ivins also is listed as a co-inventor on an application to patent an additive for various biodefense vaccines.
- ↑ Sourcing Anthrax Vaccine -- posts by Meryl Nass, M.D., August 2, 2008
- ↑ "Prosecutor calls researcher sole culprit in 2001 anthrax attacks". CNN. August 6, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
A federal prosecutor declared Army biological weapons researcher Bruce Ivins the sole culprit in the 2001 anthrax attacks Wednesday, after releasing a stack of documents from a "herculean" investigation that lasted nearly seven years.
- ↑ Johnson, Carrie, Del Quentin Wilber and Dan Eggen. "Government Asserts Ivins Acted Alone." The Washington Post, August 7, 2008, p. 1.
- ↑ Lipton, Eric. Doubts "Persist Among Anthrax Suspect's Colleagues." The New York Times, August 9, 2008, p. 13.
- ↑ Shane, Scott; Lichtblau, Eric (August 2, 2008). "Man Suspected in Anthrax Attacks Said to Commit Suicide". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ↑ "Scientist in Anthrax Case Said to Have Killed Himself". Bloomberg. August 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
Based on laboratory test results of blood taken from the body, the state medical examiner "determined that an autopsy wouldn't be necessary" to determine the cause of death, Martyak said.
- 1 2 Andyshak, Ashley (2009-01-06). "Details of Ivins' death released in police report". Frederick News-Post.
- ↑ Kemp, Paul F.; DeGonia, Thomas M. (2008-08-01). "Statement from Attorneys Representing Dr. Bruce Ivins During Anthrax Investigation". Venable LLP. Archived from the original on August 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
For six years, Dr. Ivins fully cooperated with that investigation, assisting the government in every way that was asked of him. He was a world-renowned and highly decorated scientist who served his country for over 33 years with the Department of the Army.
- ↑ Isikoff, Michael, "The Case Still Isn’t Closed", Newsweek, August 18, 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 Gugliotta, Guy, "FBI's Theory On Anthrax Is Doubted", Washington Post, Oct. 28, 2002.
- ↑ Epstein, Edward Jay, "The Anthrax Attacks Remain Unsolved", Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2010.
- ↑ Lara Jakes Jordan (September 17, 2008). "Leahy: Anthrax Suspect Did Not Act Alone". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ↑ Amerithrax Court Documents. United States Department of Justice
- 1 2 Affidavit in support of search warrant. United States Department of Justice, October 31, 2007. Archived August 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Lipton, Eric (August 6, 2008). "In Anthrax Scientist's E-Mail, Hints of Delusions". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
Richard G. Rappaport, an associate clinical psychiatry professor at the University of California, San Diego, who examined the court papers at the request of The New York Times, said Dr. Ivins appeared to exhibit psychotic characteristics. It was possible, Dr. Rappaport said, that he was faking his mental ailment, in an effort to draw attention to himself. But he said he wondered why Dr. Ivins had been allowed to continue to work for so long in a high-security biodefense laboratory.
- 1 2 Willman, David, "Report Faults Army In Anthrax Attacks", Los Angeles Times, 23 March 2011, p. 1.
- ↑ Yudhijit Bhattacharjee (1 April 2011). "Army Missed Warning Signs About Alleged Anthrax Mailer". Science. 332 (6025): 27. PMID 21454766. doi:10.1126/science.332.6025.27.
- ↑ Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, Science in Ivins Case Not Ironclad, NRC Says, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, February 18, 2011.
- ↑ Gilbert, Sharon K. (2008-08-04). "The Curious Tale of Bruce Edwards Ivins". PID News.
- ↑ "Therapist: Anthrax suspect tried to poison people". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
Bruce E. Ivins, the late microbiologist suspected in the 2001 anthrax attacks, told his psychotherapist after learning he was about to be indicted that "he was going to go out in a blaze of glory, that he was going to take everybody out with him," she said.
- 1 2 3 Greenwald, Glen. "Additional key facts re: the anthrax investigation" Salon.com Aug. 4, 2008.
- ↑ Goldstein, Amy, "Tales of Addiction, Anxiety, Ranting", Washington Post, Aug. 6, 2008.
- 1 2 A Shocking Mockery Archived 2011-09-07 at the Wayback Machine., Katherine Heerbrandt, The Frederick News-Post, August 12, 2009.
- ↑ Recordings from answering machine of therapist Jean Duley Archived March 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine., The Frederick News-Post, August 12, 2009.
- ↑ "2nd page of Jean Duley's complaint filed against Dr. Ivins". July 24, 2008. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ↑ "Therapist: Ivins described plot to kill colleagues". CNN. August 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ↑ "Dr. Doom's Long, 'Derange' Trip", New York Post, Aug. 7, 2008.
- ↑ Greenwald, Glenn (2008-08-01) Vital unresolved anthrax questions and ABC News, Salon.com
- ↑ Greenwald, Glenn (2008-08-05) The FBI's emerging, leaking case against Ivins, Salon.com
- ↑ Greenwald, Glenn (2008-08-06) The FBI's selective release of documents in the anthrax case, Salon.com
- ↑ Greenwald, Glenn (2008-08-10) What's the answer to this?, Salon.com
- ↑ "Ivins: Archived letters to the editor", Frederick News-Post. August 1, 2008
- 1 2 "Ivins believed Jews were God's chosen". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. August 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ↑ Shane, Scott (January 3, 2009). "Portrait Emerges of Anthrax Suspect's Troubled Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- 1 2 "FBI: Anthrax suspect Ivins obsessed with Kappa - The Daily Princetonian". Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
- ↑ "User talk:Jimmyflathead". wikipedia.org.
- 1 2 Wikipedia Contribution List page for User Jimmyflathead
- ↑ The Smoking Gun, "Inside The Anthrax Probe", (specific page), August 6, 2008.
- ↑ Westmoreland, Matt (2008-08-07). "Anthrax suspect's lawyer: Kappa obsession is not proof". The Daily Princetonian. Princeton University.
- ↑ Temple-Raston, Dina, "Mad Scientist Hides In Plain Sight", The Washington Post, 14 August 2011, p. B6.
External links
Wikinews has news coverage of Bruce Ivins: | |
- PubMed Ivins BE as author
- Google Scholar Bruce E. Ivins publications
- U.S. Department of Justice, Amerithrax Court Documents
- 2008 Court Documents and DOJ Report in convenient form
- Anthrax Redux: Did the Feds Nab the Wrong Guy?
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