* USAMRIID’s Special Pathogens Branch sent irradiated Ames anthrax to Aberdeen Proving Ground in March 1999

* the withholding of information by various federal agencies has led to many complaints; here are examples of information withheld by the FBI, NAS, EPA and FAA.

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  …

“Responsible Americans who believe in holding our government accountable for its actions should read CASE CLOSED to be more informed of the facts of the case, regardless of whether they come to agree with the author’s theory. More investigation is needed.”

“You will not want to stop reading … Lew Weinstein addresses the 2001 anthrax case with the pen of a highly skilled investigator.”

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the withholding of information by various federal agencies

has led to many complaints; here are examples of information

withheld by the FBI, NAS, EPA and FAA

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It has become commonplace for the public to complain that federal agencies refuse to comply with FOIA requirements and other legitimate requests for information. How can a democracy work, critics say, when its government officials refuse to obey the law and provide the information essential to public debate?

The Amerithrax investigation is of course the prime concern of the CASE CLOSED blog, and many are frustrated that more information has not been forthcoming regarding this matter.

However, since it is the correct solution of Amerithrax that we all desire, perhaps the best approach is for everyone (the agencies and those requesting information) to conscientiously review the standards that control and apply them to the facts.

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Politicians charged with oversight are aghast when the FBI refuses to answer direct questions from Congressmen and Senators … see related post … * Sen. Grassley says he will hold nominees at the DOJ until he receives long overdue answers from the FBI

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I am frustrated when the FBI will not respond to my questions as to why the Amerithrax investigation is still open more than a year after the FBI accused Dr. Ivins of being the sole perpetrator and 3 months since they emphatically repeated that the closing of the case was imminent … see related post … * 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

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I am surprised when the NAS won’t even answer my questions regarding the basis for sequestering FBI-submitted documents in apparent violation of FOIA requirements … see related post … * It’s well past time for the NAS to be frank and honest about what it has agreed with the FBI regarding the sequestering of FBI-submitted documents in apparent violation of FOIA requirements

NOTE: the day after this post was published, the NAS reversed its previously stated position … see related post …

* the NAS will provide FBI-submitted documents and the NAS/FBI anthrax study contract

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In addition, DXer reports that the EPA refuses to waive the fee for FOIA documents he has requested, in apparent violation of its own policies and his plainly demonstrated commitment to disseminate the information to the public which was their basis for denying the request…

Fee Waivers and Reductions (from the EPA webpage):

• The Freedom of Information Reform Act of 1986 provides that documents shall be furnished without any charge or at a  reduced charge if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to general public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
• A fee waiver or reduction of fees must be requested and justified by supporting documentation.  If you request a fee waiver, explain how the information will be used in the public interest and to what extent, if any, use of the information will be in your commercial interest.  Include statements on how you plan to disseminate the information, as well as your qualifications that are relevant to any specialized use of the documents.

DXer comments … This was a simple easy standard for the EPA to understand and apply.  Why should we expect the FBI to solve a difficult crime when FOIA officers cannot even comply with simple documents requests and apply simple standards?

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This frustration over not being provided information is not new, as evidenced by the FAA withholding from 9/11 Commission, as described in John Farmer’s new book GROUND TRUTH …

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tells the 9/11 Commission it has already given the Commission all the documents it asked the FAA for.
• John Farmer, head of the Commission team investigating what happened on the day of 9/11, finds this hard to believe, as the boxes of material the FAA has provided do not contain many tapes or transcripts of FAA communications on the day of the attacks. [Shenon, 2008, pp. 201]
• Later interviews of FAA staff will reveal there is a mountain of evidence the FAA is withholding from the  Commission (see September 2003).

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* the FBI’s tactics of obfuscation and delay are still working, almost 8 years after the anthrax attacks; the best answers may be in my novel CASE CLOSED

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

Anonymous Scientist said yesterday (8/24/09) …

We are now at T+ 30 days since the FBI announced they were “on the verge” of closing the anthrax case.

DXer observed earlier today (8/25/09) …

Ridge’s book, due out September 1 ,chronicles his entire tenure as homeland security chief.  The publisher summarizes: “Ridge takes us through the challenges he and his new department faced, including Anthrax scares and reports (both real and false alarms) of new Al-Qaeda operations sprouting up in the United States” … Why are former Administration officials being allowed to collect millions for disclosing information which is subject to disclosure under FOIA?  Is secrecy a means of ensuring big book deals ?

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LMW COMMENT …

The apparent FBI strategy, after charging a dead man who could not defend himself, has been to provide no credible evidence to support its case, and to delay any and all attempts, including by Congress, to penetrate their veil of silence.

The bad thing is that it’s working.

Other issues arise, and the guilt or innocence of Dr. Bruce Ivins fades ever further away in “attention-deficit” America.

Is there anything likely to happen to change this situation?

• The Rush Holt Anthrax Investigation Commission is going nowhere.
• The NAS study will take another 18 months and will, in the end, only tell us what we know now, which is that the science doesn’t prove that Dr. Ivins or anyone else was the anthrax perpetrator.
• And, aside from Anonymous Scientist, who else is taking note that the FBI’s decision to close the case, and thus make available information now hidden, seems to be fading into an uncertain future.
• Perhaps DXer or others will get responses from FOIA requests that will lead somewhere.

Or maybe the best answers we will ever get are in my novel CASE CLOSED, where the fictional mode allowed me to say what others, bound by facts, cannot.

related post …

* What does a novel have to do with the real anthrax case?