click here to … buy CASE CLOSED by Lew Weinstein
one reader says …
“The whole Anthrax episode is unquestionably a dark moment in American history.
But what makes it fascinating is how it was handled (or should I say mishandled) by the administration and the various agencies involved.
CASE CLOSED is a must read for anyone who wondered … what really happened? … Who did it? … why?” … and finally, why didn’t they tell us the truth?”
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NAS needs to explain its decision to sequester FBI-submitted documents in apparent violation of FOIA law
It is now over a week since my email to NAS asking for the specific legal authority they are citing to permit them to sequester FBI-submitted documents until the end of their study (perhaps 17 months from now). I have received no response, which is unusual since all of my other emails were answered almost immediately.
Accordingly, I sent the following email to NAS today … BILL … I wonder if you could let me know the status of any response to my 9/10/09 email. Are you in the process of preparing a response? When can I expect to receive a response? … LEW
Here’s the essence of the email I sent to the NAS on 9/10/09 …
- You say that much of the FBI material is exempt from release under the FOIA law, but you do not cite the specific legal authority under which such exemptions are claimed.
- It is my understanding that there are several reasons for possible exemption from release. Which reasons do you specifically cite for each category of FBI material you claim is exempt?
- Also … I note that you say “much” of the FBI material is exempt, which means that some is not exempt.
- Could you please advise which FBI material you believe is not exempt, and how the non-exempt FBI material differs from the FBI material which you say is exempt?
- Finally, how does one go about requesting the FBI material which you say is not exempt?
It is hard to avoid concluding that the FBI is engaged in a very conscious effort to restrict information about its Amerithrax investigation. Here’s a brief review of the known chronology …
- September & October 2001 … anthrax letters were mailed; 5 people died, 17 others were infected, an attempt was made to murder Congressman Daschle and Senator Leahy.
- August 8, 2008 … after a 7 year investigation, the FBI announced that Dr. Bruce Ivins (recently deceased) was the SOLE PERPETRATOR of the 2001 anthrax attacks, and that, after completing a few administrative details, they would close the case.
- August 2009 … the FBI announced it was “on the verge” of closing the Amerithrax case.
- September 2009 … the FBI refused to answer my questions as to whether the Amerithrax investigation is still ongoing.
- September 2009 … the NAS stated (in an email to me) that, by terms of its undisclosed contract with the FBI, most materials submitted by the FBI will not be subject to FOIA requests until the conclusion of their review.
- September 17, 2009 … Senator Charles Grassley called the FBI refusal to answer his questions as “beyond unacceptable,” asked if the FBI has “something to hide.”
What might the FBI have to hide?
- If the FBI is still investigating the Amerithrax case, then that suggests they no longer believe Dr. Bruce Ivins was the SOLE PERPETRATOR, an admission that would open serious questions as to why they said so in the first place.
- If Dr. Ivins was indeed the SOLE PERPETRATOR, what else is there to investigate?
- If the FBI is not still investigating the Amerithrax case, but yet has not officially closed the case, what are they waiting for?
- One possible (likely?) answer is that once the case is officially closed, many investigative documents will become available under the FOIA law.
What’s going on between the FBI and the NAS?
- What sort of arrangement did the FBI impose on the NAS regarding documents the FBI has and will turn over to the NAS during the course of the NAS review of the FBI’s anthrax science?
- The NAS has said (in an email to me) that they will turn over the FBI submitted documents at the conclusion of their review.
- DXer asserts (in a prior comment on this blog) that the FOIA law does not provide for such delayed disclosure, that if the documents are subject to FOIA requests at the end of the study, they must be subject to such requests now.
- Will the NAS make available the FBI-submitted material it said (in the email to me) was not subject to any FOIA exemption?
- Why hasn’t the NAS cited the specific FOIA exemptions it claims apply to the FBI submitted material?
- And, if there are such exemptions, by what provision of the FOIA law do the exemptions apply now but not at the end of the review period?
America needs Congressman Holt’s Anthrax Review Commission
Congressman Rush Holt has submitted legislation for an Anthrax Review Commission to look into what really happened in the attacks and what the FBI has been doing for the past eight years to solve the case. That legislation, which still sits in the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Congressman Conyers, needs to become law. And the questions raised above about the FBI/NAS relationship need to be added to the inquiry agenda.
CASE CLOSED ... what really happened in the 2001 anthrax attacks? 