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American Morning
Government Investigators Draining Pond in Maryland
Aired June 10, 2003 - 08:05 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Government investigators draining a pond in Maryland, searching for clues in the anthrax investigation. They're working on a theory that the pond was used to safely load anthrax spores into envelopes which were then mailed in late of 2001.
Marilyn Thompson is the author of "The Killer Strain," also assistant managing editor for investigations at the "Washington Post."
She's been reporting on this theory and this story.
She's live today in D.C.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, Marilyn.
Nice to see you.
MARILYN THOMPSON, "WASHINGTON POST": Yes, Nice to see you.
HEMMER: What are you hearing about what investigators hope to find in the bottom of that pond?
THOMPSON: They hope to find evidence, good, hard, solid evidence, hopefully containing signs of anthrax contamination. That's what's been really lacking in this case thus far.
HEMMER: Is it possible that anthrax is still located, traces of it, in that sediment?
THOMPSON: That's a very interesting question. I've talked with a number of different scientists who have varying opinions on that. It's hard to say what would be at the bottom of that pond given the nature of anthrax and its behavior in water. I simply don't know. I think we're going to have to wait and find out. It's going to take the FBI a number of weeks to get the water out to get to the bottom of it.
HEMMER: Stephen Hatfill is considered the "person of interest" in this matter. His spokesperson was with us last hour, Pat Clawson, saying he had nothing to do with this.
If you consider Stephen Hatfill right now, what if they find no evidence in that pond that may link him? What then does the government do?
THOMPSON: I think the FBI is at a point where it's going to very soon have to either put up or shut up. Mr. Hatfill, as you know, has been under around the clock surveillance for literally months and the FBI can't continue to play this sort of aggressive game with him. They're either going to have to produce evidence that they can use to indict him or they're going to have to stop.
HEMMER: What's the hunch that put him in that category in the first place?
THOMPSON: They had a number of tips early in the investigation that they should look at Dr. Hatfill, who had been doing some very provocative things over the years in the area of bioterrorism preparedness. He had made statements that some people considered alarming. He had worked on devices for disseminating anthrax as part of his job at the Science Applications Center National.
So several people told the FBI this was someone that they definitely needed to interview.
HEMMER: If you go back to the search for this pond, Marilyn, there was this plastic container that was discovered and the theory says that if someone wanted to put the anthrax spores into envelopes, they could use gloves on the sides of this container and keep themselves protected. Apparently tests on that container have not been conclusive as to whether or not there was anthrax inside.
What does that possibly indicate about this investigation?
THOMPSON: So far there have been two rounds of tests, one positive, one negative for the presence of anthrax. And it's not uncommon in tests of pathogens to get conflicting results. The FBI continues to analyze that box and the other materials that were brought up for the possible presence of anthrax. It could take a very long time to reach what they feel is a conclusive bit of evidence on that.
HEMMER: Maybe in three or four weeks we'll see the water level drop a bit more.
Thanks, Marilyn.
Marilyn Thompson down in D.C.
THOMPSON: Thank you.
HEMMER: We'll speak again.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 10, 2003 - 08:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Government investigators draining a pond in Maryland, searching for clues in the anthrax investigation. They're working on a theory that the pond was used to safely load anthrax spores into envelopes which were then mailed in late of 2001.
Marilyn Thompson is the author of "The Killer Strain," also assistant managing editor for investigations at the "Washington Post."
She's been reporting on this theory and this story.
She's live today in D.C.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING, Marilyn.
Nice to see you.
MARILYN THOMPSON, "WASHINGTON POST": Yes, Nice to see you.
HEMMER: What are you hearing about what investigators hope to find in the bottom of that pond?
THOMPSON: They hope to find evidence, good, hard, solid evidence, hopefully containing signs of anthrax contamination. That's what's been really lacking in this case thus far.
HEMMER: Is it possible that anthrax is still located, traces of it, in that sediment?
THOMPSON: That's a very interesting question. I've talked with a number of different scientists who have varying opinions on that. It's hard to say what would be at the bottom of that pond given the nature of anthrax and its behavior in water. I simply don't know. I think we're going to have to wait and find out. It's going to take the FBI a number of weeks to get the water out to get to the bottom of it.
HEMMER: Stephen Hatfill is considered the "person of interest" in this matter. His spokesperson was with us last hour, Pat Clawson, saying he had nothing to do with this.
If you consider Stephen Hatfill right now, what if they find no evidence in that pond that may link him? What then does the government do?
THOMPSON: I think the FBI is at a point where it's going to very soon have to either put up or shut up. Mr. Hatfill, as you know, has been under around the clock surveillance for literally months and the FBI can't continue to play this sort of aggressive game with him. They're either going to have to produce evidence that they can use to indict him or they're going to have to stop.
HEMMER: What's the hunch that put him in that category in the first place?
THOMPSON: They had a number of tips early in the investigation that they should look at Dr. Hatfill, who had been doing some very provocative things over the years in the area of bioterrorism preparedness. He had made statements that some people considered alarming. He had worked on devices for disseminating anthrax as part of his job at the Science Applications Center National.
So several people told the FBI this was someone that they definitely needed to interview.
HEMMER: If you go back to the search for this pond, Marilyn, there was this plastic container that was discovered and the theory says that if someone wanted to put the anthrax spores into envelopes, they could use gloves on the sides of this container and keep themselves protected. Apparently tests on that container have not been conclusive as to whether or not there was anthrax inside.
What does that possibly indicate about this investigation?
THOMPSON: So far there have been two rounds of tests, one positive, one negative for the presence of anthrax. And it's not uncommon in tests of pathogens to get conflicting results. The FBI continues to analyze that box and the other materials that were brought up for the possible presence of anthrax. It could take a very long time to reach what they feel is a conclusive bit of evidence on that.
HEMMER: Maybe in three or four weeks we'll see the water level drop a bit more.
Thanks, Marilyn.
Marilyn Thompson down in D.C.
THOMPSON: Thank you.
HEMMER: We'll speak again.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
