The U.S. Justice Department has issued subpoenas to U.S. microbiology laboratories to obtain Ames strain samples in an effort to determine the source of the anthrax used in last fall’s attacks, the New York Times reports today (see GSN, Feb. 26).

The laboratories that were subpoenaed include the University of New Mexico and Louisiana State University, the Times reported.  LSU maintains one of the largest U.S. collections of anthrax strains, according to the Times.  It is not yet known if other laboratories have received subpoenas, but experts said the total number of laboratories that will be examined would probably be more than 12.

Some experts said they were surprised it had taken the Justice Department this long to issue subpoenas — more than four months after it was discovered the Ames strain was the anthrax used in the attack.

Federal law enforcement officials said they have been conducting the investigation slowly and deliberately to ensure that no pieces of evidence are missed.  One reason it took so long to issue the subpoenas was that investigators needed a scientific protocol for how samples are to be collected and shipped, according to one official.

“That took time to develop,” the official said.

The protocol is designed to make sure anthrax samples stay alive and free from contamination, according to the Times.  They are also meant to make sure that the process used to collect them can withstand court scrutiny.

“There are serious health risks and a potential for danger,” said another law enforcement official (William Broad, New York Times, Feb. 27).

Culprit Might Have Tried to Divert Suspicion

The real person responsible for the anthrax attacks might have falsely accused a former scientist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported today.

In early October, FBI agents requested that former USAMRIID scientist Ayaad Assaad come in for questioning, according to the Journal-Constitution (see GSN, Jan. 29).

“I was just totally paralyzed, mentally and physically,” Assaad said.  “The only time I ever had any dealings with the FBI was when I had to be fingerprinted for my citizenship application.  So I didn’t know what to make of it.”

FBI agents told Assaad they had received an anonymous letter claiming Assaad was planning to conduct a biological weapons attack and that he had the means to successfully do so, the Journal-Constitution reported.  The letter accurately described the security clearances Assaad had while employed at USAMRIID and said his two sons were possible accomplices to the plan.  The letter’s author said he was a former colleague of Assaad’s.

“I’ve been in this country for 26 years,” Assaad told the FBI agents when shown the letter.  “I came here for the opportunity to build for the future, not for destruction.”

The FBI agents asked Assaad if he had access to biological weapons, which Assaad said he did not, according to the Journal-Constitution.  He was later told he was free to go.

The FBI questioned Assaad Oct. 3, a day before the first anthrax cases were discovered, according to the Journal-Constitution.  This could mean whoever sent the anonymous letter knew the attack had begun, the Journal-Constitution reported.

“I think it could well be whoever sent the (hoax) letter,” said Barbara Hatch Rosenberg, a New York State University microbiologist and author of a paper for the Federation of American Scientists analyzing the anthrax investigation (see GSN, Feb. 20).  “The superficial purpose was to cast suspicion on Assaad” (Lenny Savino, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 27).

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