* the National Academy of Sciences has withheld all the documents produced to it by the FBI, conducting its entire study in a level of secrecy that matches the way the FBI has informed us of the details of its investigation … how infuriating this should be for any American who wants to believe that the government we support is actually working on our behalf

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*** REMINDER ***

The University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) and The UC Washington Center

Cordially invite you to attend a seminar:

The Anthrax Mailings Investigation

Monday, November 29, 2010, 1:00 – 5:30 pm

UC Washington Center, 1608 Rhode Island Ave. NW

for more details, click … https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/youre-invited-to-the-anthrax-mailings-investigation-a-seminar-to-discuss-the-investigation-the-scientific-aspects-the-lessons-learned-and-the-broader-implications-of-the-case/

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• the National Academy of Sciences has withheld all the documents produced to it by the FBI,
• conducting its entire study in a level of secrecy that matches the way the FBI has informed us of the details of its investigation …
• how infuriating this should be for any American who wants to believe that the government we support is actually working on our behalf

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from a recent DXer comment …

The National Academy of Sciences withheld all the documents produced to it by the FBI — in violation of controlling law explained in the District of Columbia precedent cited below — until after there could be meaningful participation in the NAS proceeding. The NAS prevented outside scientists from submitting comments informed by the documents. The violation was with the full knowledge of the precedent — some of which even involved the National Academy of Sciences.

LMW COMMENT …

The secrecy surrounding the FBI’s investigation of the anthrax mailings is a serious threat to our national interest. If we are not permitted to know the facts related to a vicious terrorist attack on our country that killed five people, how can we say we live in a democracy. The FBI has never made its case against Dr. Ivins, and surely it is not because they really believe the facts they have released are sufficient. The rules they established for others speaking in public and for the NAS study would be more appropriate to the Soviet KGB than to a US police agency. The NAS has conducted its entire study in secret, with no meaningful input from those who know much about the case, behaving every bit as arrogantly as the  FBI. There is no way for me to express how infuriating this is and should be for any American who wants to believe that the government we support is actually working on our behalf.

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The FBI’s case against Dr. Ivins is clearly bogus: no evidence, no witnesses, an impossible timeline, science that proves innocence instead of guilt.

So what really happened? And why? The “fictional” scenario in my novel CASE CLOSED has been judged by many readers, including a highly respected official in the U.S. Intelligence Community, as perhaps more plausible than the FBI’s unproven assertions.

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

* Bugmaster reports … Dina Temple-Raston swallows the FBI’s anthrax story without any apparent concern about the facts … Dr. Ivins deserves better from a serious reporter

 

NPR's Dina Temple-Raston

 

Bugmaster reports …

• I attended Dina Temple-Raston’s lecture last week. Very little was about the anthrax case.
• When asked to respond to the recent news that the GAO was getting involved, she was rather dismissive of the new development.
• She feels very strongly that Ivins was guilty, and one reason she believes so was that “Ivins and Hatfill were co-workers for a period of time, and it was really Ivins who was responsible for all the FBI attention given to Hatfill”.
  • Actually, it was media hype that played the main role in Hatfill’s vilification.
  • Perhaps Temple-Raston and others in her profession are taking a page from the FBI’s playbook: Blame It On The Dead Guy!
• Also, from Ms. Temple-Raston: “All his co-workers think Ivins did it”.
  • Really! What about Dr. Adamovicz, Dr. Heine, and Dr. Bryne?
• “Ivins had the skills to do it”. Not exactly.
  • The skills to produce the raw material he certainly had, but to convert the wet spores into the deadly form sent to Senator Leahy (without contaminating the area where the material was being processed and killing the cat) would have required the knowledge of a protein chemist, not a microbiologist.
• Temple-Raston does not have near the technical knowledge to be able to speculate how this crime was committed. And if she believes Ivins was guilty, fine, but as a NPR reporter, I still think she has an obligation to state actual facts, not exaggerations or FBI bullshit.

LMW COMMENT …

Not such a good week for NPR. Too many reporters simply accept what the FBI has said, without probing through the paper-thin veneer to disclose that their case (or at least the case they’ve told the world about) is totally bogus: no evidence, no witnesses, an impossible timeline, science that proves innocence instead of guilt.

So what really happened? And why? The “fictional” scenario in my novel CASE CLOSED has been judged by many readers, including a highly respected official in the U.S. Intelligence Community, as perhaps more plausible than the FBI’s unproven assertions.

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

* the NAS report regarding “Scientific Approaches used during the FBI’s Investigation of the 2001 Bacillus Anthracis Mailings” is due on October 24th … but it won’t be issued until at least the end of the year !!! … and now we hear the contract has been extended … why? until when?

 

UPDATE … the NAS report on the FBI’s anthrax science

will NOT be issued on 10/24 !!!

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10/26 … LMW to NAS … I’ve been told that the FBI/NAS contract has been extended. Is this true? Until when? At whose initiative? For what reason? When do you now anticipate the report will be released?

10/21 #3 … email FROM LMW TO Steven Kendall … STEVE … Thanks for responding. But why is the report not ready on October 24 as scheduled (ie, 18 months)? Don’t you think you owe us some explanation for your failure to meet your target? … LEW

10/21 #2 … FROM Steven Kendall, NAS Senior Program Associate … We anticipate that the report will be issued by the end of the year.

10/21 #1 … email sent FROM LMW to NAS … Will the NAS issue its report on October 24? If not, when?

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• the official title of the NAS study is … Review of the Scientific Approaches used during the FBI’s Investigation of the 2001 Bacillus Anthracis Mailings
• The project began April 24, 2009 and has a duration of 18 months
• The report is thus due on October 24, 2010
• no announcement has been made that the report will or will not be issued on schedule
• The last meeting of the NAS Committee was June 2, 2010,
• It was a closed meeting, after which no announcement was made.
• by the terms of the NAS contract with the FBI, which is paying for the review and has established the rules, the NAS is not permitted to draw any conclusions regarding the guilt or innocence of Dr. Bruce Ivins or any other person(s).

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see the NAS project page at …

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/CommitteeView.aspx?key=49105

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The FBI’s case against Dr. Ivins is clearly bogus: no evidence, no witnesses, an impossible timeline, science that proves innocence instead of guilt.

So what really happened? And why? The “fictional” scenario in my novel CASE CLOSED has been judged by many readers, including a highly respected official in the U.S. Intelligence Community, as perhaps more plausible than the FBI’s unproven assertions.

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

 

* is there no way to hold JAG or someone else responsible for what appears to be a purposeful withholding of information related to the FBI’s bogus investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks?

welcome to Fort Detrick ... just don't expect any answers to your questions

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DXer commented earlier today …

• It is JAG that appears responsible for the withholding of documents for two years.
• If all remaining documents are not produced this week, Congress should call a JAG witness to explain why they delayed production for two years and who made the decision at JAG to delay production of the documents.
• A federal judge likely would sanction the JAG attorneys in a civil litigation context.
• The practice of law should never involve hide-the-ball.
• Taxpayers are paying the JAG salaries.  The lawyer responsible for withholding the documents works for taxpayers.

LMW COMMENT …

This whole affair is a disgrace.

The FBI’s case against Dr. Ivins is clearly bogus: no evidence, no witnesses, an impossible timeline, science that proves innocence instead of guilt.

So what really happened? And why? The “fictional” scenario in my novel CASE CLOSED has been judged by many readers, including a highly respected official in the U.S. Intelligence Community, as perhaps more plausible than the FBI’s unproven assertions.

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *