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CNN Sunday Morning

Authorities Hope for Further Clues in Anthrax Investigation

Aired November 18, 2001 - 08:43   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.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in Washington are hoping for new clues in their anthrax investigation after finding a suspicious letter addressed to Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. The letter resembles the anthrax-tainted mail that was sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and two national media outlets.

With more, here is CNN congressional correspondent Kate Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The letter addressed to the office of Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy is eerily familiar.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: I've got to admit, it's a tad chilling when you see your name on something like this.

SNOW: The block writing nearly identical to the address on the letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, on the same day, October 9, both postmarked Trenton. On both letters, the return address is a fictitious school in New Jersey. The FBI says initial tests indicate the Leahy letter contains anthrax. More conclusive tests are being run at an Army lab.

LEAHY: I tend to agree with the estimation that the FBI and the police have made, that this is the actions of somebody within this country who is acting out.

SNOW: Leahy says the letter could have been sent to him at random. But he is the top Democrat on the committee that deals with law enforcement, gun control and the death penalty.

Investigators found the letter while sifting though 280 barrels of unopened congressional mail being held in a warehouse in Northern Virginia. Mail to Senator Leahy would have passed through a delivery center near the Capitol, the Senate mail room in the Dirksen office building, and then arrived at his office in the Russell building next door.

It's unclear how far down that chain the letter got before the FBI took it to the warehouse.

(on-camera): But because the letter was removed from Capitol Hill more than five weeks ago, and no one has gotten sick, officials say there's little health risk. No one on the Senator's staff is being told to take antibiotics.

(voice-over): Still, investigators say the Leahy letter might be connected to other exposures, even deaths.

VAN HARP, FBI WASHINGTON OFFICE: This is a cold-blooded murderer. There are four individuals dead as a result of this, none of them the intended targets. And we are working aggressively and furiously around the clock trying to resolve this. We need your help.

SNOW: Someone out there said Senator Leahy must know something.

Kate Snow, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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