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American Morning

Anthrax Investigations: Search for Clues Continues

Aired October 17, 2001 - 09:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and 10 other senators remains closed today, and investigators are searching for the source of an anthrax-tainted letter.

CNN congressional correspondent Kate Snow joins us from Capitol Hill with the very latest.

Good morning again, Kate.

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

Sen. Tom Daschle tells CNN that the anthrax that was contained in the letter opened in his office on Monday morning was a particularly potent form of anthrax, raising a lot of questions on Capitol Hill about where that anthrax might have come from and whether, perhaps, it could have been from a state-sponsored source.

FBI Director Robert Mueller also confirmed yesterday that there are similarities between the letter sent to Daschle and a letter sent to Tom Brokaw, the NBC news anchor. If you look at handwriting, they say the handwriting is similar. They also says both letters are postmarked from Trenton, New Jersey.

Twelve offices in and around Sen. Daschle's office, including Sen. Daschle's office in the Hart Building main closed this morning. Those offices are all in one corner of the building.

You are looking at tape inside the Hart Building shot a few moments ago. You see staff members coming into the building. They're allowed in the billing, but not in one particular corner; that area is cordoned off and closed indefinitely.

Yesterday, more than a thousand people lined up throughout the day to be tested for anthrax exposure. These are people who were in the Hart Office Building at some time or another on Monday morning. They are concerned that perhaps they might have been in the vicinity. So just as a precaution, they are being tested to see if they have been exposed. All of those folks have been given a three day supply of Cipro.

Earlier this morning, we spoke with Secretary Tommy Thompson about the availability of Cipro, and whether there is enough to go around.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We intend to ask Congress for an additional $600 million, to purchase some additional Cipro, as well as some other antibiotics so that we could treat 12 million individuals if they come in contact with any anthrax.

And I also want to point out that anthrax is not contagious, and therefore, we feel that the amount that we have right now we can respond to. But we are going to make sure that we have additional supplies, in case we need it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: The testing here on Capitol Hill continues this morning. We are told it started again, about a half hour ago, in the Hart Office Building, for anyone who has concerns that perhaps they might have been in the area on Monday.

It's important to note, though, Paula, that officials here and the Capitol Police are stressing they don't think there is any reason for undue concern. They don't think that anything had gotten into the ventilation system, but there was some concern about that, and that is why they are taking these precautions.

Paula, back to you.

ZAHN: But Kate, you and I both know they may say that, but I have got to imagine some workers you have talked to are nevertheless still quite worried about this. What are you hearing?

SNOW: People are concerned. There is no hiding that. Folks who were in line yesterday, throughout the day -- and there were hundreds in line at a time -- say that they simply wanted to be sure. And many of them are expressing that they would feel better if they had some reassurance that they had a result in hand that would show they were clear of anthrax. That would make them feel a little bit more comfortable -- Paula.

ZAHN: Kate, thanks so much.

Two of the cases of actual anthrax infection are in New York. One is the baby of an ABC news producer, a 7-month-old little boy.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins us now from New York, with an update.

Do we know how the little guy is doing this morning?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you know, Paula, that baby was very sick for a short period of time, but he's doing much better. He is in good condition. He is responding to antibiotics, and he is expected to make a full recovery.

Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to figure out exactly what he may have come in contact with when he was here with his mother, who, as you say, is was a news producers at ABC back on September 28. Health officials retraced their steps, focusing on the second and third floors here at ABC, especially the edit rooms. Those floors were closed while officials completed an environmental check. This is a puzzling case for investigators so far; there is no letter for them to point to, like we saw in the case of NBC. Investigators have questioned some 200 employees here at ABC.

No one is showing any symptoms. According to an internal memo, they have tested a number of employees. They took nasal swabs. Those samples sent to lab up in Albany.

But once again, the baby boy, the 7-month-old baby boy, is expected to make a full recovery. He is infected with a skin form of anthrax, which is usually treatable with antibiotics -- Paula.

ZAHN: Jason, we talked a little bit yesterday with Myr. Giuliani about some of the controversy involving the FBI and perhaps even New York police officers during the first wave of this, at NBC. Have you heard any feedback on whether city officials think the FBI is being more proactive in this, particularly in the ABC investigation?

CARROLL: As you know, the mayor has said that they learned a lot of lessons with the case with NBC. As you know, a police officer and two lab technicians who were investigating the case over at NBC were exposed to anthrax spores. So in this situation, they took some extra precautions in terms of how they were investigating this case at ABC. But yesterday, I know that the mayor made a point of saying that the FBI and the New York City Police Department were working together, to make sure they could get at the bottom of this -- Paula.

ZAHN: Jason Carroll, thanks so much, appreciate it.

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