* its seems the FBI said the documents were exempt from FOIA and NAS, with no independent verification, accepted that conclusion

CASE CLOSED is a novel which answers the question “Why did the FBI fail to solve the 2001 anthrax case?” … click here to … buy CASE CLOSED by Lew Weinstein

Here’s what readers say about CASE CLOSED  …

“Author Lew Weinstein does a terrific job telling this fictionalized account of an inter agency post-mortem investigation of the (real) failed FBI investigation.”

“Fiction?? Maybe?? But I don’t think so!! More likely an excellent interpretation of what may have really happened.”

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update on the NAS/FBI decision

to sequester FBI-submitted documents

Questions asked to NAS spokesperson

1. Does the NAS/FBI agreement specifically prohibit the disclosure of FBI-submitted documents, in whole, in part, now, or later?
2. If so, can you provide the language of the agreement that does so?
3. What do you claim as your lawful authority to sequester the FBI-provided material until the end of your review?
4. Do you understand that you are required to state specific exemptions pursuant to FOIA?
5. Are you prepared to have your attorney cite specific FOIA exemption provisions for each document sequestered?
6. Are there provisions of the FOIA law which allow the exemptions you cite to apply now but not at the end of the review period?
7. How do you characterize FBI-submitted material which you believe is not exempt?

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It has been several weeks since I learned from the NAS that they had agreed with the FBI to sequester FBI-submitted documents until the end of their study.

Several emails failed to solicit additional details, particularly as to the legal authority NAS might be claiming under FOIA to sequester the documents. A few days ago, I was afforded the opportunity to discuss these questions with the NAS spokesperson, who by the way, has been as forthcoming and responsive as he can be, given the lack of information he has to share.

I asked the questions listed above. The spokesperson said he would consult with NAS legal counsel and get back to me. He said he had forwarded my questions when originally submitted and had received no answer. No answer so far this time either.

The impression I got was that NAS had not done any independent analysis of its FOIA obligations before agreeing to sequester the FBI-submitted documents.

It seems that the FBI told them the submitted documents were exempt from FOIA disclosure and the NAS, with no independent verification, simply believed the FBI and acted accordingly.

I am certain the scientists on the NAS panel are conscientious and want to do an honest and comprehensive job.

The problem seems to be that the bureaucrats at the NAS, seemingly willing to accede to whatever the FBI says, and not willing to release the contract between NAS and the FBI so we can understand the deal they have made, are already diminishing the likelihood that the scientists will be able to produce the results they hope for, and which the American people deserve.

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* Is the FBI’s anthrax case ongoing or not? … I’ve been asking for two months … the FBI refuses to answer … here’s the email trail

CASE CLOSED is a novel which answers the question “Why did the FBI fail to solve the 2001 anthrax case?” … click here to … buy CASE CLOSED by Lew Weinstein

Here’s what readers say about CASE CLOSED  …

“Author Lew Weinstein does a terrific job telling this fictionalized account of an inter agency post-mortem investigation of the (real) failed FBI investigation.”

“Fiction?? Maybe?? But I don’t think so!! More likely an excellent interpretation of what may have really happened.”

******

* Is the FBI’s anthrax case ongoing or not?

… I’ve been asking for two months

… the FBI refuses to answer

… here’s the email trail

June 25, 2009 … LMW to FBI Washington DC Field Office <washington.field@ic.fbi.gov>

• On August 6, 2008, Mr. Jeffrey Taylor, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, accompanied by Mr. Joseph Persichini, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, announced …
  • “We are now beginning the process of concluding this (Amerithrax) investigation. Once this process is complete, we will formally close the case.”
• To the best of my knowledge, however, the case has not yet been closed.
• If the Amerithrax case is in fact still open, I wonder if you could tell me the FBI’s reasons for keeping the case open, and also how many agents are currently assigned, compared to the number assigned before the August 2008 announcement.
• Thank you very much for your help in this matter.

August 27 … LMW to FBI Washington DC Field Office <washington.field@ic.fbi.gov>

• Below is the email I sent to you on June 25, to which there has been no answer or even acknowledgement. I wonder if you are yet in a position to answer my questions:
  • Is the Amerithrax investigation still ongoing?
  • If the investigation is still ongoing, how many agents are still assigned to the investigation?
  • If the investigation is not still ongoing, why have you not closed the case?
  • When do you plan to close the case?
• If my questions are not appropriate for you to answer because the investigation is in fact still ongoing, perhaps you could so advise me. Thanks for your consideration.

Aug 27 … Washington Field Washington.Field@ic.fbi.gov to LMW

• For more information, call the media representative at your local FBI Field Office.

August 27 … LMW to Washington Field <Washington.Field@ic.fbi.gov>

• First of all, I appreciate your continued responses and direction.
• As you suggested, I called back and asked for the Media Representative.
  • I then said that I had questions about the status of the Amerithrax investigation. Is it still ongoing? Are investigators still working on the case? When will the case be closed?
  • She went away and returned to tell me that everything the FBI has to say about the Amerithrax case is to be found on the FBI web site at www.fbi.gov.
  • So I went to the site. My search for “Amerithrax” produced not a single document dated later than August 2008. and not a single word to indicate the current status of the case the FBI said it was about to close in August 2008.
  • Would you forgive me for thinking that the person who sent me to the FBI site knew there was nothing there to answer my questions?

Wouldn’t it be more honest, and more likely to inspire confidence in the FBI, to simply tell the truth instead of sending honest questioners on wild goose chases?

• Either the Amerithrax investigation is ongoing or it is not.

If the investigation is still ongoing, that is ample reason for the FBI to refuse to release information that might be useful to the unnamed potential perpetrators still under investigation. Since such information would be of no use to Dr. Ivins, dead for over a year now, this would also suggest that other possible perpetrators or accomplices are still being investigated. That would be encouraging to those of us, including many U.S. Congressmen and Senators, who do not believe the FBI has made the case against Dr. Ivins.

If the investigation is not still ongoing, and the FBI intends to stand behind its August 2008 conclusions, then why not close the case and make the appropriate documents available under FOIA? One reason might be that the FBI is afraid its conclusions cannot be supported by those documents.

The continuing refusal to either admit the investigation is still ongoing or to close the case and release the documents contributes mightily to the view that the FBI has failed to solve the case and is hiding some deep dark secrets. It is not healthy for the FBI or our country to have such suspicions proliferate.

• I would very much appreciate it if you would help me get off this FBI obfuscation merry-go-round and provide some straight answers, whatever they are.
• Thanks for listening to my request.

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