Also see:
AOL/Microsoft-Hotmail Preventing Delivery of Truthout Communications •
Go to Original
US Attorney's Office Accused of Anthrax Case Leaks
By David Willman
The Los Angeles Times
Saturday 12 January 2008
An Army doctor, a "person of interest" never charged in the deadly 2001 mailings, names three federal officials.
Washington - Attorneys for the former Army physician who was branded
a "person of interest" in the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings named three
federal officials Friday who they said leaked investigative details that harmed
their client.
The physician, Steven J. Hatfill, has not been charged with a crime and maintains
his innocence. Hatfill is suing the FBI, the Justice Department and a handful
of present and former law enforcement officials. He alleges that the leaks were
illegal, damaged his reputation and violated his right to privacy.
"We have identified three of the leakers who were previously anonymous,"
one of Hatfield's attorneys, Mark A. Grannis, said near the outset of a sparsely
attended hearing in federal court. "Some of the most damaging information
leaked in this case [came] straight out of the U.S. attorney's office."
The anthrax mailings killed five people and sickened about 20 others from Florida
to Connecticut. Coming on the heels of the suicide attacks on the World Trade
Center in New York City and on the Pentagon, the mailings led to the shutdown
of a Senate office building and heightened the nation's fear of prolonged terrorism.
Hatfill's attorneys alleged that the three officials who leaked investigative
details to the media were: Roscoe C. Howard Jr., who from 2001 to 2004 served
as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia; Daniel S. Seikaly, who served
as Howard's criminal division chief; and Edwin Cogswell, who formerly served
as a spokesman for the FBI.
One of Hatfill's attorneys said during the hearing that he would soon seek
"sanctions" relating to Howard's additional role in leading the government's
defense in 2003 and 2004 against the lawsuit. Hatfill's attorneys named the
three purported leakers after questioning six reporters under oath. Howard,
Seikaly and Cogswell had released reporters from their earlier pledges of confidentiality,
according to a lawyer familiar with the matter. Neither the reporters nor their
organizations were named in Friday's hearing, held to discuss the status of
Hatfill's nearly 5-year-old lawsuit.
Howard and Seikaly, who now practice privately at the same Washington law firm,
did not return messages seeking their comment. Cogswell, who is employed by
the FBI but in another capacity, could not be reached. His successor said the
bureau would not comment because it concerned a matter of ongoing litigation.
An attorney with the Justice Department, Elizabeth J. Shapiro, did not confirm
nor deny the alleged leaking during the court hearing. However, Shapiro asked
the judge to direct the parties to try to settle out of court.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered the attorneys for the government
and for Hatfill to seek mediation over the next two months. The prospects of
a mediated settlement notwithstanding, Walton said he expected that a trial
on the lawsuit could begin in December. Hatfill's attorneys, Grannis and Thomas
G. Connolly, did not speculate in court on the likelihood for a settlement.
Afterward, Grannis said: "The court has set a schedule for bringing this
case to trial this year, and we're very pleased at the prospect that Dr. Hatfill
will finally have his day in court."
Hatfill's lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages. It alleges that the defendants'
actions impeded his ability to secure full-time work and that he suffered "severe
emotional distress." Hatfill, 54, formerly held government positions at
the Army's medical research institute for infectious diseases and at the National
Institutes of Health. He did not appear in court Friday.
A settlement of the case could carry political implications: On Aug. 6, 2002,
then-Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, first identified Hatfill as a "person of
interest" in the anthrax mailings.
By settling with Hatfill, the government would all but dispel the possibility
that he might ever be charged for the deadly mailings. And - in an election
year when fear of terrorism looms an important issue - Hatfill's exoneration
would remind voters that no suspect has been caught.
The anthrax investigation has been one of the largest in the FBI's history.
Based on summaries described publicly by members of Congress, the "Amerithrax"
investigation as of late 2006 had led to 9,100 interviews, 67 searches and 6,000
grand jury subpoenas.
Hatfill's lawsuit argues that officials' determination to appear in command
of the unsolved case drove their efforts against him - resulting in "a
sustained course of willful and intentional misconduct by law enforcement officials
who placed the public image of their agencies above their duty to respect the
privacy and liberty of an innocent U.S. citizen."
-------
Jump to today's Truthout Features:
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r u t h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.
Print This Story
E-mail This Story