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CNN Saturday Morning News
FBI Examines Evidence Seized From Potential Suspect in Anthrax Mailings
Aired August 03, 2002 - 07:06 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.
LARRY SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI is examining evidence seized from the apartment of a man agents call a potential suspect in the anthrax attacks.
For the latest on the investigation of former Army researcher Steven Hatfill, we go to CNN's Kathleen Koch in Washington. Good morning, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Larry.
Well, FBI investigators have plenty to sift through. Agents on Thursday carried boxes and garbage bags from Steven Hatfill's Frederick, Maryland, apartment into a waiting FBI van.
Law enforcement sources say that tests are being performed and documents are being evaluated, but there's no word yet on what they've found, if anything.
Hatfill's apartment happens to be just outside the gate of Fort Detrick, the Army's biowarfare defense lab, where the 48-year-old researcher worked for two years, from 1997 to 1999. While Hatfill didn't work directly with anthrax, sources say that he did have access to a lab there that contained the Ames strain of anthrax. That is the one that was found to have been used in last fall's mailings that led to the deaths of five people.
There is no explanation right now for this renewed focus on Hatfill. While he's being called a potential suspect, law enforcement sources point out that between 20 and 30 other people are also under scrutiny. Those sources say that some of those people on that short list are also under surveillance.
Hatfill has up to now been cooperating with authorities. Back in June, he allowed them to search the same apartment that they combed through Thursday. And at that point, they also searched a locker that Hatfill used in Florida. Sources say that so far, no incriminating evidence was found in those earlier searches.
Hatfill had been planning to leave this area, accepting a job at Louisiana State University as associate director of the school's National Center for Biomedical Research and Training. But LSU announced Friday that, quote, "in view of current circumstances," it was placing Hatfill on paid administrative leave for one month -- Larry.
SMITH: OK, Kathleen Koch in Washington, thanks so much for that.
Joining us now with more is CNN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks, joining us now.
And what a story we've been talking about here this morning. He's not being called a suspect but "a person of distinction." What is the difference? Or "a person or interest," I should say.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right. A person of interest, and that's -- it goes back to -- there's a -- there's been a list all along that the FBI's been working off of, and some of these people -- some people on this list they've looked into, they totally discounted.
There have been people who they said, you know, as people will call in, say there's somebody who was in the back yard with gloves late a night, they found it was someone who was involved in drug activity making, making drugs in their back yard.
But he has remained on the list for the whole time. It's because they -- during the interview, he has a lot of black holes. He can -- there's a lost of just some timelines that he cannot totally fill in for them.
He has also been through a polygraph that has been inconclusive. What does that mean? That means that as they found that he has not been totally truthful, and he's not being, or he's not been lying.
So there's so, again. And some people...
SMITH: It's a gray area that continues (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BROOKS: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Exactly. And there's some people that are good at taking polygraphs, as we saw back in the Ames case, back with the CIA guy, he passed it with flying colors, and he, and he, we know that he was a spy.
So, you know, there's something that they're looking at, and they can't put their finger on it. The first search was done, was done, he consented to search. He said, Go ahead, search my, search my apartment.
This search, they had a search warrant. So that means that they had enough information during the ongoing investigation to make them (UNINTELLIGIBLE), to lead them to believe that he may have something to do with this. So...
SMITH: What are they looking -- not to cut you off -- what are they looking for? For the -- in this second search? What, what, what could they be looking for now?
BROOKS: Well, you go back and look at the records. There were people in, you know, dressed in protective outfits. So that means they're looking for maybe traces of anthrax. You know, we're talking about anthrax that will get into someone's lungs and make them sick or kill them, like has been in this case. Only has to be five microns, five to six microns. That's something you can't even see with your eye. You know, so it's very, very fine, this particular Ames strain, very, very fine.
So they're going to go in with protective outfits and, you know, for their protection, of course, while they're doing the search, if he did happen to make it there.
There's also been pictures of him, you know, in his kitchen, you know, with, with protective outfits on showing him, you know, with this. So (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there's always possibility.
But again, we have to be careful not to be the judge and jury, you know, of this guy, because he is not a suspect. But he is of interest.
SMITH: Right, right.
BROOKS: You know, so, you know, we have to make sure that we're not, we're not prosecuting him here, you know, in the media.
SMITH: Right.
BROOKS: But he is something that, he's still of interest to the FBI, or else they wouldn't be searching his apartment.
SMITH: Right.
Another topic too that's come up, a federal judge Friday ordering the Justice Department to -- the names of the 15, 15 days to get the names of the more than 1,000 (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Arab-Americans that are detained. The government says that it -- that is -- dire consequences could come of that.
Very briefly, does the government's contention hold water?
BROOKS: I think it may. You know, 677 of these people have been released. You know, you know, is the government beginning to, you know, round up the usual suspects kind of thing? But, you know, with the Arab-Americans? I think they have to be careful.
But they're -- most of those people were held on immigration violations. So -- and they, again, many of them have been released. There are still some that the government feels are still (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the same case of interest. So I think we have to be careful. But, you know, the government may have some, you know, have some reason to keep them.
SMITH: I was going to say that.
BROOKS: Absolutely.
SMITH: Yes. One other thing on national security, the airlines, many major airlines cutting back flights on 9/11. Is that a good thing to do?
BROOKS: Well, if you look at the airlines' perspective, a lot of people aren't going to fly. So do you send out empty airplanes, you know, with no warm bodies in the seats? I think on a economic perspective, the airlines are probably doing the right thing. That's what they're looking at, economics.
But when it -- that's probably going to be one of the safest days to fly in aviation history. I mean...
SMITH: Problem is, no one's going to fly.
BROOKS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
SMITH: No one's going to fly now.
BROOKS: ... but there, as I, you know, the message to the public, it's safe to fly. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know, they're not going to hit a, you know, the terrorists are probably not going to come back, you know, to hit a hard target like that again...
SMITH: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BROOKS: ... especially on September 11.
SMITH: Right, exactly. Mike Brooks, we'll talk to you later on this morning.
BROOKS: Absolutely, Larry.
SMITH: Thanks so much.
BROOKS: Thank you.
SMITH: OK, appreciate it.
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