Anthrax Letters Foreknowledge Claims
The 2001 anthrax mailings prompted claims that government officials had advance warning. Federal investigators found no such link to foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks.
The 2001 anthrax mailings came so soon after September 11 that federal officials initially considered a possible connection. At an October 23 press briefing, Attorney General John Ashcroft said investigators had yet to draw a firm link between the two attacks.
One foreknowledge claim held that people in the White House had received antibiotics before the threat became public. The claim depends on when the medication was given and what prompted it. Reports of precautions alone cannot establish that officials knew about the letters in advance.
The Justice Department formally closed the case in February 2010. Its investigative summary attributed the mailings to Army researcher Bruce Ivins, who died before charges were filed. The inquiry did not establish that federal officials knew about the mailings in advance.
Bibliography:
- Willman, David. The Mirage Man
- Thompson, Marilyn W. The Killer Strain
- U.S. Department of Justice. (2001, October 23). Attorney General transcript: Media availability with German Minister of the Interior Otto Schily.
- U.S. Department of Justice. (2010, February 19). Amerithrax Investigative Summary.