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CNN Live Sunday

Hatfill Strikes Back at Justice Department

Aired August 25, 2002 - 17:03   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Former U.S. Army researcher Steven Hatfill is striking back against the Justice Department for labeling him "a person of interest" in the anthrax probe. He's filed an ethics complaint against Attorney General John Ashcroft for the unwanted attention. Hatfill says FBI agents even ransacked his girlfriend's apartment. He vehemently denied any involvement in mailing the anthrax letters last fall. In an emotional statement today, Hatfill says the probe is ruining his life.
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STEVEN HATFILL, FORMER ARMY SCIENTIST: By openly repeatedly and naming me as a person of interest, Mr. Ashcroft has not only violated Justice Department regulations and guidelines which bind him as the nation's top law enforcement official but in my view he has broken the ninth commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness."

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WHITFIELD: CNN's Brooks Jackson joins us from Washington with more. Brooks why is it that we believe that Mr. Hatfill came out again two weeks after he first emerged publicly and spoke about this?

BROOKS JACKSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good question, Fredricka. There's not a whole lot new in what he said, but clearly he's angry. He's mad about the continuing leaks in this matter. He's angry that the attorney general has once again publicly identified him as a "person of interest" as recently as Thursday in a news conference up in New Jersey. He feels, he says he feels he's innocent. He's being framed and he's just not going to take it.

WHITFIELD: At the same time, might there be some strategy behind his emerging once again?

JACKSON: Well, you know, if this is a criminal strategy by a man who expects to be indicted, then it's probably not a very good one because most criminal lawyers would advise a client to shut up because anything they say publicly could be used against them in a trial.

His attorney, however, Victor Glassburg, makes the point that he's not a criminal attorney. He's a civil lawyer and the kind of guy that files lawsuits, not the kind of guy who goes into court defending against criminal charges, and his strategy may simply be to put out the story that he's being - he's an innocent man being framed and that nobody else is going to speak up for him if he won't speak up for himself. WHITFIELD: And so, Brooks, he's also filed this complaint with the Justice Department, the very folks that he's also criticizing, so what could come of filing a complaint with them?

JACKSON: Well, that's an excellent point. He filed it with the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility and I think most people are going to say well, gee, they're asking John Ashcroft's subordinates to investigate the boss. Nothing's going to come of that.

The Office of Professional Responsibility does take its duties very seriously. They will probably proceed in a pretty independent manner but you got to ask how independent can they be when they do work for the attorney general?

WHITFIELD: All right, Brooks Jackson, thank you very much from Washington.

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