FBI: Anthrax Case Closed

Not that the Troofers will cease yammering about it:

The investigation included more than 10,000 interviews on six continents, the report said, and F.B.I. investigators conducted preliminary investigations of 1,024 people and “in-depth investigations” of more than 400 people, examining those with possible financial motives, links to the drug and pesticide industries or a history of corresponding with the lawmakers targeted by the mailings.

In response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act, the bureau also posted on the Web more than 2,700 pages of interview notes and investigative documents to bolster its case.

Dr. Ivins, a microbiologist who had worked with anthrax for decades as part of the vaccine program at the Army’s biodefense laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md., took a fatal overdose of Tylenol in July 2008 at the age of 62, after months of intense scrutiny by the F.B.I., which had placed a GPS device on his car, examined his trash and questioned his wife and two children.

They discovered his penchant for taking long drives at night, sometimes mailing letters and packages from distant spots under assumed names. They discovered his obsession with a sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and with images of blindfolded women, hundreds of which were found on his computer, the report says.

Read it all. Sounds like a real crazy person.

Hat Tip to Jon Gold

Who pointed out the flaw in the usual 9-11 Denier claim that the Bush Administration used the anthrax scare to ram through the Patriot Act. Of course, Jon thinks he did something else, but check out his post:

Oct 2, 2001: The Patriot Act is introduced in Congress. The next day, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D) accuses the Bush administration of reneging on an agreement on this anti-terrorist bill. [Washington Post, 10/4/01] Anthrax letters are sent to Leahy and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D) on October 9. [CNN, 11/18/01]

Okay, so we've got the timeline here. Oct 2, Patriot Act introduced. Oct 3 Pat Leahy grumbles about an agreement that he felt he had. Oct 9, anthrax letters sent to Leahy and Daschle. Anything else in there?

Oh, yeah, that Washington Post article dated 10/4/01, which is headlined:

Senate Democrats, White House Reach a Deal on Anti-Terror Bill

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement issued at 9:30 p.m.: "These have been complex and difficult negotiations, but after much hard effort we have completed work on this bipartisan agreement."

So in other words, Leahy had already agreed to the Patriot Act by 10/3/01, well before the anthrax letters. Thanks for the assist, Jon!