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American Morning

Hatfill's Fired From Louisiana State University

Aired September 04, 2002 - 07:31   ET

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

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: By labeling him a "person of interest" in the FBI's anthrax investigation, former Army scientist Steven Hatfill says the government has destroyed his life. Now, Hatfill's been fired from his current job at Louisiana State University. The school says the move is in its best interests. But with no hard evidence, no charges filed, has LSU rushed to judgment?
Chancellor Mark Emmert joins us from Baton Rouge.

Good morning, sir.

Thanks very much for being with us.

MARK EMMERT, LSU CHANCELLOR: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: Why did you end up firing Mr. Hatfill?

EMMERT: Well, we, of course, put Mr. Hatfill on administrative leave back on August 2, long before he'd relocated to the university. His original hiring had been July 1 and then he had not moved to Louisiana. We put him on administrative leave to give us a chance to look at the situation in its totality, to carefully, objectively, thoughtfully assess the situation. And then we determined that is it in the best interests of the university in fulfilling its mission as a research university and as an institution that cares deeply about its academic integrity and its ability to fulfill that mission, that it was in the best interests to terminate our relationship with Mr. Hatfill.

ZAHN: Can you let us know what you learned this morning in that month or so period that changed your mind?

EMMERT: Well, no, we're really not in a position where we can comment on any of the specifics of this or any other personnel decision that we make. That's a university policy and practice. And we have to maintain that. I have some great sympathy for the situation Mr. Hatfill finds himself in, but at the end of the day we, of course, have to look at how well the university can fulfill its obligations and serve its mission.

ZAHN: Let's talk about a little bit of what he would have done. The LSU center where Hatfill would have been an associate director provides training for terror scenarios as part of a Department of Justice program. Did the government ask you to get rid of him?

EMMERT: They most certainly did not. They have communicated with us, of course. They are an organization with whom we've had a longstanding relationship, but they did not ask us to get rid of Mr. Hatfill.

ZAHN: So if the government didn't put any pressure on you, can you acknowledge whether any important donors to the university put some weight on you and leaned on you?

EMMERT: Most assuredly not. No one has leaned on the university in any fashion. We reached this decision on our own, looking at the facts of the circumstances because at the end of the day it was the right decision. Admittedly, a very difficult one, Paula. Not something that anybody enjoyed doing.

ZAHN: Let me read to you what Steven Hatfill is saying through a spokesperson. And we're going to put up a small part of this on the screen. He says, "My life has been completely and utterly destroyed by Attorney General John Ashcroft and the FBI. I don't have a job. I'm not unemployed. Twenty years worth of training is down the tubes. My professional reputation is in tatters."

In absence of any evidence linking him to this anthrax case, what do you say to the folks that LSU rushed to judgment here?

EMMERT: Well, I know we didn't rush to judgment. As I said, we looked at this matter very carefully over an extended period of time. We did not have a longstanding relationship with Mr. Hatfill. Indeed, as I said, he's only been appointed to this position as of July 1 and has never held the position on a full-time basis.

We spent half of the time of his employment with us, from the full month of August, to look into this matter. We think that we've treated him fairly. That is not to say we're not sympathetic with his plight. Indeed, we are and we have made clear that our decision was not in any way an indication of our assumption about his guilt or innocence of any of the FBI allegations.

ZAHN: The other thing his spokesperson is complaining about today is the fact that this firing happened after he moved all of his possessions to Louisiana. What do you say to him and that criticism?

EMMERT: Well, again, you know, we're very sympathetic with his circumstances. But the fact is we informed him of his status as being on leave with pay clear back in August 2, long before he'd relocated. We also informed him that we didn't want him on campus until we had clarified this matter.

It was his decision to move to Louisiana. He did that with full knowledge of his current status. That he finds himself in this predicament is, indeed, regrettable, but the university has treated Mr. Hatfill very fairly.

ZAHN: Do you know who's going to replace him?

EMMERT: No, we don't at this time.

ZAHN: All right, well, we'll maybe have you back when you make that decision.

Chancellor Emmert, thank you for your time this morning.

EMMERT: Fine, thank you.

ZAHN: We appreciate it.

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