* When Is The Army Going To Process The Many Dozens Of Withheld Emails Awaiting Production?
Posted by DXer on January 22, 2018
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Posted by DXer on January 22, 2018
This entry was posted on January 22, 2018 at 10:18 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
CASE CLOSED ... what really happened in the 2001 anthrax attacks?
DXer said
CNN sues FBI to force release of Mueller investigation documents
BY ZACK BUDRYK – 06/05/19 02:53 PM EDT
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/447139-cnn-sues-fbi-over-mueller-investigation-documents
Ken Dillon is suing to force limited release of certain different Mueller investigation documents — in the Amerithrax investigation.
No exemption applies, for example, to the Ivins emails still being withheld by the FBI. (The FBI misplaces the emails until specifically identified). See September 17, 2001 email written by Ivins to Linscott.
By taking down its FOIA reading room, the Army ( USAMRMC ) has prevented the District Court judge from seeing the emails that it did not produce (while under the oversight of the DOJ/FBI).
Those emails were instructed to be culled by a DOJ/FBI committee (upon instruction to USAMRMC FOIA official John Peterson) who relied upon what at the time was an applicable exemption for a pending law enforcement investigation.
But that exemption for a pending law enforcement investigation no longer applies.
USAMRMC should either produce them or be prepare to defend the continued withholding in court. USAMRMC should expect to pay attorneys fees and have its sophisticated hide-the-ball approach to production finally revealed. A lot of USAMRIID scientists are going to be disappointed but not surprised.
The good faith of the line FOIA officer was used effectively as a cover for decisions made by JAG and John Peterson.
FOIA requestor Dillon is as unstoppable as he is careful and deliberate.
The Army may well remember the last time the Army was found to willfully and wrongfully playing hide-the-ball.
There are no secrets.
DXer said
FOX NEWS FIRST: Exclusive – DOJ begins recovering missing FBI texts, Developing now, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/01/25/fox-news-first-exclusive-doj-begins-recovering-missing-fbi-texts.html
Comment:
The DOJ Inspector General should address why the FBI has failed to produce any of the emails that it relied upon in the Amerithrax investigation — to include the emails quoted in the AMERITHRAX SUMMARY and the Dellefera affidavit in support of the search of Bruce Ivins’ home. They were all culled from the Army’s production of Bruce Ivins’ emails — preventing the FBI’s characterization of the emails to be assessed by those who were skeptical of the spin by the Ivins-hating FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors who did not want to be blamed for Bruce Ivins’ suicide. (The emails revealed he had been suicidal since 1999; the withholding of his contemporaneous documents, such as key lab notebooks, greatly interfered with his ability to defend himself and caused him great stress.)
For example, in one of the culled emails, Bruce Ivins wrote Mara Linscott, his former assistant, lamenting:
“Spending every possible moment here at work, including holidays, weekends and evenings (several times lately I’ve had to come in at night and work into the wee hours of the morning – no fun!) just to save BioPort’s skin – UGH!”
The DOJ and FBI totally concealed that he was in the B3 checking the health and time of death of rabbits — said by Mara Linscott to be a one-person, two hour job — and instead falsely claimed he had no reason to be in the B3. The DOJ then shredded Mara Linscott’s civil deposition.
DXer summarizes the documentary evidence relating to Dr. Ivins work with rabbits (nowhere mentioned by the DOJ) which demolishes the FBI’s claim that Dr. Ivins had no reason to be in the lab
Posted by Lew Weinstein on July 3, 2012
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2012/07/03/dxer-summarizes-the-documentary-evidence-which-demolishes-the-fbis-ivins-theory/
On information and believe, some of the Ivins’ Sept/October 2001 emails that were pulled discuss his work with the rabbits, a word which never passed AUSA Lieber’s lips or appeared in the AMERITHRAX SUMMARY.
Emails to USAMRMC John Peterson identify the individuals instructing that the emails be pulled. After the Amerithrax investigation, the culled emails were never restored to the Army’s production despite repeated requests to both the Army and FBI.
In the pending federal court litigation brought by Kenneth Dillon, FBI’s FOIA Dave Hardy should be required to submit an affidavit about the FBI’s search and failure over the past half-decade to produce the requested Linscott and Fellows’ emails — including who instructed him to suppress them.
DXer said
This issue is not new and remains of critical importance in a balanced analysis of the “true crime” mystery of the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings:
DXer said
May 19, 2016 at 3:35 pm
The official “window” used by the FBI for the first mailing is: 5:00 p.m., September 17 through 8 p.m., September 18.
So for the Army and FBI to cull the notebooks — and emails were also culled — from productions is off the charts inexcusable It is very serious.
For example, this email dated September 17, 2001 was culled and then produced only when I specifically identified it.
The game Dave Hardy at the FBI and John Peterson at USAMRMC apparently want me to play is that we have to identify the documents withheld before they are produced.
How about we play this game instead. Produce the documents that have been wrongfully culled and withheld before the sky falls on you.
Upon prompt production, all will be forgiven and we can all have a nice summer and Thanksgiving.
DOJ For 4 Years Withheld This Email (Message 0438) Written By Bruce Ivins On The Date Of Alleged Mailing Of Deadly Anthrax ; GAO Should Obtain A Full Set Of Emails From DOJ, Including Those That DOJ Has Still Failed To Produce
Posted by Lew Weinstein on March 1, 2012
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/doj-for-4-years-withheld-this-email-message-0438-written-by-bruce-ivins-on-the-date-of-alleged-mailing-of-deadly-anthrax-gao-should-obtain-a-full-set-of-emails-from-doj-including-those-that-doj/
DXer said
The DOJ Inspector General should also address why the FBI has failed to produce any of the emails that it relied upon in the Amerithrax investigation — to include the emails quoted in the AMERITHRAX SUMMARY and the search in support of Bruce Ivins’ home. They were all culled from the production of emails by the Army of Bruce Ivins, preventing the FBI’s characterization of the emails to be assessed by those who were skeptical of the spin by the Ivins-hating FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors who did not want to be blamed for Bruce Ivins’ suicide. Emails to USAMRMC John Peterson identify the individuals instructing that the emails be pulled. After the Amerithrax investigation, the emails have never been restored to the Army’s production despite repeated requests to both the Army and FBI.
Justice Department ‘has FOUND and is recovering some’ of the 50,000 missing text messages between the Trump-hating FBI lovers
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5310541/DOJ-missing-texts-Trump-hating-FBI-lovers.html#ixzz55BuHxhGM
Flabbergasted, Meadows told Fox, ‘They’re supposed to be out tracking terrorism and we can’t even find our own text messages?’
Sessions told congressional committees on Friday that the Department of Justice’s Inspector General is looking into the matter.
‘[A] review is already underway to ascertain what occurred and to determine if these records can be recovered in any other way,’ he said. ‘If any wrongdoing were to be found to have caused this gap, appropriate legal disciplinary action measures will be taken.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5310541/DOJ-missing-texts-Trump-hating-FBI-lovers.html
DXer said
Tuesday 10:23 a.m. UPDATE:
USAMRIID researchers reviewed an eight page section on Afghanistan from the Interim Major Case Summary yesterday. They did not find any information that needed to be considered classified or Secret and notified the FBI as such.
We can thank them for turning to the issue notwithstanding the on and off again furlough.
Note that as to Ivins emails to Linscott and Fellows during the 1999-2004 period about the University of Michigan researchers and the efficacy of the decontamination agent — where the technician’s laboratory notes apparently had gone missing — those emails aren’t appropriately deemed classified either.
Anthrax, Al Qaeda and Ayman Zawahiri: The Infiltration of US Biodefense
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
DXer said
Washington Post: Sessions says ‘we will leave no stone unturned’ to find missing FBI text messages
“We will leave no stone unturned to confirm with certainty why these text messages are not now available to be produced and will use every technology available to determine whether the missing messages are recoverable from another source,” Sessions said in a statement.
The FBI’s mantra of “leave no stone unturned” is quickly sliding into J. Edgar Hoover hide-the-ball territory. Although Amerithrax head Mason once used the “leave no stone unturned” in an email to me, the years since (after he left) have reflected only a hide-the-ball approach.
Attorney General Session’s agency cannot even find any of the numerous emails that its prosecutors and agents for years have been expressly quoting to spin the guilt of Bruce Ivins in the biggest criminal whodunnit mystery in history.
A large committee of DOJ/FBI officials culled them from the production that USAMRMC official John Peterson was overseeing (over the courses of months and years) of emails to and from Bruce Ivins. Any email the DOJ/FBI wanted to exclusively spin was culled from production and kept in a file by John Peterson.
Written emails instructing what was to culled still exist unless eaten by the dog roaming the halls of DOJ.
FOX NEWS interview with RICHARD LAMBERT … Former agent claims FBI concealing evidence in anthrax case
Posted on April 22, 2015
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/fox-news-interview-with-richard-lambert-former-agent-claims-fbi-concealing-evidence-in-anthrax-case/
NYT interview of former lead Amerithrax investigator Richard Lambert: “a staggering amount of exculpatory evidence” regarding Dr. Ivins remains secret
Posted on July 16, 2016
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/nyt-interview-of-former-lead-amerithrax-investigator-richard-lambert-a-staggering-amount-of-exculpatory-evidence-regarding-dr-ivins-remains-secret/
October 18, 2016 filing of amended complaint by former lead Amerithrax investigator Richard Lambert, relating to fingering and railroading of Bruce Ivins in face of daunting undisclosed exculpatory evidence
Posted on November 18, 2016
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2016/11/18/october-18-2016-filing-of-amended-complaint-by-former-lead-amerithrax-investigator-richard-lambert-relating-to-fingering-and-railroading-of-bruce-ivins-in-face-of-daunting-undisclosed-exculpatory/
FBI not only is concealing evidence exculpatory of Ivins (according to former lead investigator Lambert), but it took key lab notebooks from USAMRIID that it has refused to give back!
Posted on September 14, 2015
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2015/09/14/fbi-not-only-is-concealing-evidence-exculpatory-of-ivins-according-to-former-lead-investigator-lambert-but-it-took-key-lab-notebooks-from-usamriid-that-it-has-refused-to-give-back/
DXer said
What document is classified and will not be released to the public at this time? It was one of the documents sent by the FBI to the Army by the transmittal above.
Leahy has said if the Government wants to hide its mistakes, they just stamp it classified.
I spoke to Mr. Walukonis before Christmas about Notebook 4010 and haven’t heard back on that. On that, DOJ is still playing hide the ball and refuses to cough it up, despite repeated formal requests from the Army.
FBI Director Mueller once told Congress there was nothing classified about the case. I guess he was mistaken.
It should be identified as withheld on the grounds of being classified in a Vaughn Index by DOJ counsel.
Oh, and don’t forget to produce Notebook 4037.
John Peterson should be deposed about the many dozens of emails still not produced.
Anthrax, Al Qaeda and Ayman Zawahiri: The Infiltratio of US Biodefense
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
DXer said
Stupid question: Is it the Interim Major Case Summary (IMCS), the major investigative report of the Anthrax mail attacks, that is classified? (This document has been narrowed to the IMCS table of contents and three subsections. This release totals 59 pages.)
To start with, why would an investigative report written by the FBI be sent to the Army — with a separate section on the FBI’s Ivins Theory — be sent to the Army for processing under FOIA? The Army is not the originating agency. (It has been sent to RIID OPS and they are responsible for not agreeing to release it — for continuing this mind-numbing game of hide-the-ball.)
And if the Army is saying that the FBI’s Ivins theory is classified, what is it that is being concealed from the public?
It should be redacted pursuant to the national security exemption under FOIPA. If the FBI is going to try to withhold its section on Ivins on the grounds that it is classified, then a federal court should set things right by pointing to the national security exemption available for redactions.
But, hey, I’ll tell you what is classified based just on open source information and connecting the dots.
Anthrax, Al Qaeda and Ayman Zawahiri: The Infiltration of US Biodefense
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
DXer said
Tuesday 10:23 a.m. UPDATE:
USAMRIID researchers reviewed an eight page section on Afghanistan from the Interim Major Case Summary yesterday. They did not find any information that needed to be considered classified or Secret and notified the FBI as such.
We can thank them for turning to the issue notwithstanding the on and off again furlough.