U.S. attorney's office accused of anthrax case leaks (LAT)

[kpete]

U.S. attorney's office accused of anthrax case leaks

An Army doctor, a 'person of interest' never charged in the deadly 2001 mailings, names three federal officials.
By David Willman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 12, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Attorneys for the former Army physician who was branded a "person of interest" in the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings named three federal officials Friday who they said leaked investigative details that harmed their client.

The physician, Steven J. Hatfill, has not been charged with a crime and maintains his innocence. Hatfill is suing the FBI, the Justice Department and a handful of present and former law enforcement officials. He alleges that the leaks were illegal, damaged his reputation and violated his right to privacy.

"We have identified three of the leakers who were previously anonymous," one of Hatfill's attorneys, Mark A. Grannis, said near the outset of a sparsely attended hearing in federal court. "Some of the most damaging information leaked in this case straight out of the U.S. attorney's office."

The anthrax mailings killed five people and sickened about 20 others from Florida to Connecticut. Coming on the heels of the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and on the Pentagon, the mailings led to the shutdown of a Senate office building and heightened the nation's fear of prolonged terrorism.

more at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-anthrax12jan12,0,646463.story?coll=la-home-nation

[bullimiami]

1. bush and cheney should be impeached just for the deliberate incompetence

that scuttled any chance of solving the anthrax cases.

WHY?
Why the fuck is that not the most important question. WHY. WHY WOULD BUSH AND CHENEY SCUTTLE INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE ANTHRAX ATTACKS AND 9/11.

[Echo In Light]

2. But...but...there "hasn't been any terror attacks since 9/11!"

[Echo In Light]

3. It's odd how something like this attracts so little attention

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

4. k&r.

[Ghost in the Machine]

5. Kicked & Recommended - Needs One More Rec For The Greatest

Why haven't the anthrax mailers been caught??

[seafan]

6. DOJ quietly asking for settlement in Hatfill's case, which 'could carry political implications.'

The Dr. Steven J. Hatfill anthrax witch hunt is melting before the Bush Administration's eyes.



By David Willman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 12, 2008

.....

Hatfill's attorneys alleged that the three officials who leaked investigative details to the media were: Roscoe C. Howard Jr., who from 2001 to 2004 served as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia; Daniel S. Seikaly, who served as Howard's criminal division chief; and Edwin Cogswell, who formerly served as a spokesman for the FBI.

.....

One of Hatfill's attorneys said during the hearing that he would soon seek "sanctions" relating to Howard's additional role in leading the government's defense in 2003 and 2004 against the lawsuit. Hatfill's attorneys named the three purported leakers after questioning six reporters under oath. Howard, Seikaly and Cogswell had released reporters from their earlier pledges of confidentiality, according to a lawyer familiar with the matter. Neither the reporters nor their organizations were named in Friday's hearing, held to discuss the status of Hatfill's nearly 5-year-old lawsuit.

.....

An attorney with the Justice Department, Elizabeth J. Shapiro, did not confirm nor deny the alleged leaking during the court hearing. However, Shapiro asked the judge to direct the parties to try to settle out of court.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered the attorneys for the government and for Hatfill to seek mediation over the next two months. The prospects of a mediated settlement notwithstanding, Walton said he expected that a trial on the lawsuit could begin in December. Hatfill's attorneys, Grannis and Thomas G. Connolly, did not speculate in court on the likelihood for a settlement.

.....

A settlement of the case could carry political implications: On Aug. 6, 2002, then-Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft first identified Hatfill as a "person of interest" in the anthrax mailings. By settling with Hatfill, the government would all but dispel the possibility that he might ever be charged for the deadly mailings. And -- in an election year when fear of terrorism looms as an important issue -- Hatfill's exoneration would remind voters that no suspect has been caught.

.....

Hatfill's lawsuit argues that officials' determination to appear in command of the unsolved case drove their efforts against him -- resulting in "a sustained course of willful and intentional misconduct by law enforcement officials who placed the public image of their agencies above their duty to respect the privacy and liberty of an innocent U.S. citizen."

[robinlynne]

8. It damn well better carry political implications!

[malaise]

7. Get thee to the Greatest page

K & R

[DemReadingDU]

9. afternoon kick

[AntiFascist]

10. K&R, more OBSTRUCTION of justice...

regarding right-wing domestic terrorists from the Bush Administration. What will these terrorist cells try to achieve if and when a Democrat does become president?