* DOJ should overcome FBI’s withholding of documents about its “highly controversial” Ivins Theory so that people can get on same page and the history can be written

 

* Dr. Kenneth Dillon’s request for mediation services re DOJ’s withholding of Bruce Ivins’ alibi documents from Sept-October 2001

Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, Maryland 20740-6001
August 26, 2016

Re:  Appeal No. DOJ-AP-2016-003776
FOIA Request No. 1327397-000
MWH RCS

Office of Government Information Services:

I am an attorney representing Kenneth J. Dillon of Washington, D.C. in seeking your services in mediating with FBI and DOJ regarding his FOIA request for records on U.S. Army scientist Bruce Ivins in the anthrax mailings case.  Dr. Dillon is a retired academic historian and retired foreign service officer.  He requested records from September and October, 2001 regarding Ivins—specifically, unreleased emails, laboratory notebooks, paper and computer files, information about meetings, and telephone and credit card records, building entry and exit records, and records on Ivins’s animal experiments.  The purpose was to show his activities and whereabouts, a crucial kind of alibi evidence.

The anthrax mailings case was the largest criminal investigation in FBI’s history.  After Ivins committed suicide in 2008, FBI claimed that he had mailed the anthrax letters.  But it only selectively released documents, and there was no trial.  According to former chief investigator Richard Lambert, FBI has not released a “staggering amount of exculpatory evidence” (New York Times, April 8, 2015).  There are good reasons to believe that the mailings were in fact an al Qaeda attack.

Attached are Dr. Dillon’s original request of April 18, 2015; his appeal to DOJ of June 19, 2016; DOJ’s November 24, 2015 remand of his request to FBI for a search for responsive records; his appeal to DOJ of June 6, 2016; and DOJ’s denial of August 23, 2016.

Among the documents requested is Ivins’s laboratory notebook #4282, which includes the days September 14-18, 2001 when Ivins was purportedly preparing and mailing the first anthrax letters. In spite of my request and Dr. Dillon’s request, FBI has never released this notebook.

Sincerely yours,
Ross E. Getman
Member of DC and New York Bars

* FBI cannot locate anthrax case lab notebook for the day first letters were mailed!

DXer says:

The former lead investigator of Amerithrax, Richard L. Lambert, has brought a whistleblower suit in federal district court.  He has alleged that the FBI is withholding a staggering amount of information that is exculpatory of the late scientist, Bruce Ivins.

NYT interview of former lead Amerithrax investigator Richard Lambert: “a staggering amount of exculpatory evidence” regarding Dr. Ivins remains secret
Posted by Lew Weinstein 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/

FOX NEWS interview with RICHARD LAMBERT … Former agent claims FBI concealing evidence in anthrax case
Posted by Lew Weinstein 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/

FBI fights release of exculpatory information regarding 2001 anthrax attacks
Posted by Lew Weinstein on September 10, 2015
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/fbi-fights-release-of-exculpatory-information-regarding-2001-anthrax-attacks/

Ivins/Amerithrax-Notebook 4282 FOIA follow-up by DXer
Posted on June 13, 2016
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/ivinsamerithrax-notebook-4282-foia-follow-up-by-dxer/

By letter dated August 23, 2016, Attorney Matthew Hurd denied Kenneth Dillon’s appeal of the FBI’s denial of his request.  Dr. Dillon had requested all documents not yet produced relating to Dr. Bruce Ivins during the September-October 2001 time period.

Appeal
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/dr-ken-dillon-appeals-fbis-wrongful-stonewalling-of-documents-from-the-september-october-2001-time-period-of-the-anthrax-mailings/

Denial
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/by-letter-dated-august-23-2016-dojs-matthew-hurdy-has-failed-to-provide-dr-ivins-notebook-4282-which-has-notations-on-september-18-2001-the-date-of-the-fall-2001-anthrax-maili/#comment-45391

Dr. Dillon has a related pending request for the “Interim Case Management Summary” authored by Richard Lambert.

Many observers, including most outside scientists, have argued that the FBI’s “Ivins Theory” was unpersuasive.  The FBI reasoned that Dr. Ivins had no reason to be in the lab on particular dates.  Some DOJ and FBI officials reasoned he must have been making and preparing a powderized anthrax to kill 5 people.  I  have interviewed the Al Qaeda anthrax lab director Yazid Sufaat, however, and he does not deny responsibility for the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings.

Yazid Sufaat says that, contrary to some media reports, he was successful in developing anthrax, but prefers other bugs; he views anthrax as good for sabotaging, but not killing
Posted by Lew Weinstein on April 30, 2015
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/yazid-sufaat-says-that-contrary-to-some-media-reports-he-was-successful-in-developing-anthrax-but-prefers-other-bugs-he-views-anthrax-as-good-for-sabotaging-but-not-killing/

Al Qaeda anthrax lab technician tells DXer that he realizes that by addressing these issues he may “jack myself up” but says that the “plan is on the way” — what does he mean when he says the “plan is on the way”?
Posted by Lew Weinstein on May 1, 2012
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/al-qaeda-anthrax-lab-technician-tells-dxer-by-chat-that-he-realizes-that-by-addressing-these-issues-he-may-jack-myself-up-but-says-that-the-plan-is-on-the-way-what-does-he-mean-when-he-s/

Hambali: Recommendation for Continued Detention (excerpt)
Posted by Lew Weinstein on April 25, 2011
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/hambali-recommendation-for-continued-detention-excerpt/

There were Al Qaeda operatives meeting with Mohammed Atta in the United States that were not caught (or were caught and released).

Ken Dillon asks … Who Was the Real Anthrax Mailer? … the key people in the anthrax mailings were not Bruce Ivins or Steven Hatfill … instead, they appear to have been Ali al-Timimi and Abderraouf Jdey.
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/ken-dillon-asks-%e2%80%a6-who-was-the-real-anthrax-mailer-the-key-people-in-the-anthrax-mailings-were-not-bruce-ivins-or-steven-hatfill-his-predecessor-as-the-fbis-target-instead-they-app/
Posted on March 28, 2010

Atta Was Coordinating With Jdey’s Associate Al-Hazmi, First In Fort Lee, NJ In Late August 2001 And Then In Laurel, MD in September 2001 ; Jdey’s Associate Nawaf Al-Hazmi Had Been At The Planning Meeting At Yazid Sufaat’s Kuala Lumpur Condo With Anthrax Planner Hambali And Anthrax Lab Director Yazid Sufaat And Yet The FBI Never Told The Public That Jdey Had Been Detained Along With Moussaoui In August 2001 (With Biology Textbooks) And Then Released
Posted by Lew Weinstein on January 25, 2012
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/atta-was-coordinating-with-jdeys-associate-al-hazmi-first-in-fort-lee-nj-in-late-august-2001-and-then-in-laurel-md-in-september-2001-jdeys-associate-nawaf-al-hazmi-had-been-at-the-planning/

DXer says … Adnan El-Shukrijumah, son of Saudi missionary, was the Fall 2001 anthrax mailer and FBI is withholding relevant documents
Posted by Lew Weinstein on May 12, 2016
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2016/05/12/dxer-says-adnan-el-shukrijumah-son-of-saudi-missionary-was-the-fall-2001-anthrax-mailer-and-fbi-is-withholding-relevant-documents/

DXer says: Adnan El-Shukrijumah is the anthrax mailer … on or about 9/13/2001, he phoned from KSM’s house to tell his mom he was coming to the US
Posted on June 6, 2014
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/dxer-adnan-el-shukrijumah-is-the-anthrax-mailer-on-9132001-he-phoned-from-ksms-house-to-tell-his-mom-he-was-coming-to-the-us/

Requestor Dr. Dillon is an academic and publisher.  He is a former intelligence analyst associated with the US State Department.  In testing the FBI’s theory that Dr. Ivins had no reason to be in the lab, he has sought Lab Notebook 4282 which contains contemporaneous handwritten notes about one of the many experiments he was working on (at pages 65-70).  The pages were first obtained by the FBI in 2003 and put in Part 1A of an FBI 302 report.  See 1A GJ 1100.

In response to Dillon’s FOIA request for information relating to Ivins’ activities in Sep.-Oct. 2001, the FBI falsely claimed that it had uploaded the information (such as Notebook 4282) to the FBI’s “Vault”
Posted by Lew Weinstein on October 15, 2015
https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2015/10/15/in-response-to-dillons-foia-request-for-information-relating-to-ivins-activities-in-sep-oct-2001-the-fbi-falsely-claimed-that-it-had-uploaded-the-information-such-as-notebook-4282-to-the-f/

The original was then seized again in 2007 and not returned.  An FBI agent in an excel spreadsheet that has been produced explains that the notebook has entries from the time of the mailings. (See Part 55 of 59 of Amerithrax documents in the FBI’s “Vault.”)   The FBI and DOJ have failed to produce the notebook despite requests by both me and Dr. Dillon.  Specifically, there are notations from September 14, 15 and from September 18, 2001, the date of the first mailing.

The Army has sought the return of the notebooks taken by Dr. Ivins for years — and has uploaded all those that it has and that eventually were returned by the FBI.  Notebook 4282, however, still has not been returned.  According to USMRMC FOIA Officer Sandra Rogers, the FBI still has not returned Notebooks 4037, 4010 and 4282, preventing the Army from uploading them in USAMRMC’s excellent reading room that was created containing my FOIA requests directed to USAMRIID.
http://mrmc.amedd.army.mil/index.cfm?pageid=foia_reading_room.overview

I have uploaded the FBI discussing the documents relating to Notebook 4282 that is still subject of the DOJ and FBI’s game of hide-the-ball at the hyperlinks above.  I have forwarded them to Attorney Matt Hurd.  Attorney Hurd, who has been very gracious, has expressed a willingness to have an attorney reconsider the denial.  But that will lead to an attorney doing the same ineffectual searches in the decades-old database being used of words like “Notebook” “USMRMC.”  Instead, Attorney Hurd should pick up the phone and call FOIA analyst Meredith Savary or former lead Amerithrax investigator Richard Lambert or someone currently at the FBI who would know and ask where to find the documents.  To claim that the dog ate the lab pages in Dr. Ivins’ notebook on the date of mailing of anthrax that killed 5 people is unacceptable.  I am advised by FOIA Officer Ms. Rogers that the Notebook 4282 that the FBI has not returned is titled “Anthrax.”

This past week, Hambali, the supervisor of Al Qaeda anthrax lab director Yazid Sufaat, saw the light of a courtroom for the first time since his capture in 2003.  That’s an incredible 13 years without any transparency about his involvement in Al Qaeda’s anthrax program.

On this issue of the FBI blaming Dr. Bruce Ivins for the anthrax mailings,however, there is no justification for there not to be government in the sunshine.  The Department of Justice and FBI should comply with FOIPA.  The Department of Justice and FBI, first and foremost, should stand for the rule of law.

Anthrax, Al Qaeda and Ayman Zawahiri:  The Infiltration of US Biodefense
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com

* By letter dated August 23, 2016, DOJ’s Matthew Hurd has failed to provide Dr. Ivins’ Notebook 4282 which has notations on September 18, 2001, the date of the Fall 2001 anthrax mailings.

* Did someone make a powder out of the missing 340 ml. of virulent Ames for DARPA or DTRA research?

* July 26, 2016 Court of Appeals Order directs that Ali Al-Timimi remand will include consideration of Supreme Court 2015 “due process” ruling relating to vagueness of crime

 

* NYT interview of former lead Amerithrax investigator Richard Lambert: “a staggering amount of exculpatory evidence” regarding Dr. Ivins remains secret

“This case was hailed at the time as the most important case in the history of the F.B.I.,” Mr. Lambert said. “But it was difficult for me to get experienced investigators assigned to it.”

He said that the effort was understaffed and plagued by turnover, and that 12 of 20 agents assigned to the case had no prior investigative experience. Senior bureau microbiologists were not made available, and two Ph.D. microbiologists who were put on the case were then removed for an 18-month Arabic language program in Israel. Fear of leaks led top officials to order the extreme compartmentalization of information, with investigators often unable to compare notes and share findings with colleagues, he said.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Tennessee last Thursday, Mr. Lambert accused the bureau of trying “to railroad the prosecution of Ivins” and, after his suicide, creating “an elaborate perception management campaign” to bolster its claim that he was guilty.

***

Source: Former F.B.I. Agent Sues, Claiming Retaliation Over Misgivings in Anthrax Case
By SCOTT SHANE … APRIL 8, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/us/ex-fbi-agent-claims-retaliation-for-dissent-in-anthrax-inquiry.html?_r=0

* In suppressing exculpatory info about Ivins in Amerithrax, the FBI has failed to identify the agency or agencies with which it has to consult before producing the 16 pages, thus avoiding accountability for the continued withholding of exculpatory information

 

* SECRETS- The FBI refuses to produce the 16 pages relating to an Ivins Theory in the “Interim Case Management Summary” without referring to another agency (even though the FBI is the originating agency).

* The CART documents from Sep 01- Oct 01 that FBI has failed to give Dillon under FOIA may relate to the “server archive” documents