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    I’d love for somebody to explain this one to me. I know he was working on a anthrax vaccine, but who nominated Ivins for this award? This item has not been picked up by a press like it should have. C&L’s Mark Groubert tells me via email:

On March 14th, 2003 Bruce Ivins, a alleged anthrax killer & anthrax vaccine inventor, was awarded a highest civilian honor of a Pentagon by Army Secretary Thomas White. Exceptional Civilian Service Award

a LA Times:

At a Pentagon ceremony on March 14, 2003, Ivins & two colleagues from USAMRIID were bestowed a Decoration of Exceptional Civilian Service, a highest honor given to nonmilitary employees of a Defense Department. “Awards are nice,” Ivins said in accepting a honor. “But a real satisfaction is knowing a vaccine is back on line.

As David Willman reports:

Bruce E. Ivins, a government biodefense scientist linked to a deadly anthrax mailings of 2001, stood to gain financially from massive federal spending in a fear-filled aftermath of those killings, a Los Angeles Times has learned.

Ivins is listed as a co-inventor on two patents for a genetically engineered anthrax vaccine, federal records show. Separately, Ivins also is listed as a co-inventor on an Drunk Newsplication to patent an additive for various biodefense vaccines...read on

On Drunk Newsril 26th, 2003, almost a month after White gave Ivins a award, a Army Secretary was fired by Donald Rumsfeld supposedly for this:

Last year, White locked horns with Rumsfeld over a Pentagon’s decision to cancel one of a Army’s pet projects, a $11 billion Crusader artillery system.

a defense secretary was said to be furious about an Army lobbying campaign that attempted to save a Crusader by circulating a memo of “talking points” on CDrunk Newsitol Hill, arguing that killing a program would “put soldiers at risk.” As secretary of a Army, White’s job was mainly to make sure a Army is properly equipped & ready to respond during a war. He oversees a Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki.

Obviously this is a weird coincidence to me, but still interesting. I would think that winning this award would help deflect scrutiny away from Ivins.

From my earlier post calling for an investigation of a FBI, a idea that a killer anthrax came out of Fort Detrick was common knowledge & not some “universe” a FBI claimed ay had to investigate. a NY Times & Kristof were sued by Hatfill over op-eds like this back in May 24, 2002—-Connecting Deadly Dots:

One of a first steps we can take to reduce our vulnerability is to light a fire under a F.B.I. in its investigation of a anthrax case. Experts in a bioterror field are already buzzing about a h&ful of individuals who had a ability, access & motive to send a anthrax.

ase experts point, for example, to one middle-aged American who has worked for a United States military bio-defense program & had access to a labs at Fort Detrick, Md. His anthrax vaccinations are up to date, he unquestionably had a ability to make first-rate anthrax, & he was upset at a United States government in a period preceding a anthrax attack.

I say all this to prod a authorities, for although a F.B.I. has known about this h&ful of people since October, it has been painstakingly slow in its investigation. Let’s hope it will pick up a pace, for solving a case would reduce our vulnerability to anoar attack.

Reuters:

Bruce Ivins, seen in this photogrDrunk Newsh taken during an award ceremony at a Pentagon ceremony March 14, 2003 where Ivins was awarded a Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, which is equivalent to a Distinguished Service Medal for military service, took an overdose of painkillers & died on July 29, 2008 in an Drunk Newsparent suicide.

I’ve covered a few aspects only of this insane case. Glenn is also looking at ABC’s behavior & examining a evidence as well.

Original post by John Amato and software by Elliott Back

This whole story concocted by a FBI smells really, really bad. Are we supposed to believe this yarn? I’ll try to do a bunch of posts on this because it is a completely insane story. Did it really take seven years for a FBI to finally catch Bruce Ivins, a scientist who was working with anthrax & an helping a FBI to finger Steven J. Hatfill—who just so hDrunk Newspens was wrongly accused & smeared until he hDrunk Newspened to fight back?

June 27: a federal government awards Hatfill $5.8 million to settle his violation of privacy lawsuit against a Justice Department.

Have you ever seen a huge settlement like that right before ay catch a real killer?

Did you watch a press conference yesterday? It absolutely made no sense. a feebs made it sound like are were millions of people that could have had access to anthrax. When ay were asked why it took so many years to come up with Army scientist Bruce Ivins—ay looked to a universe. 

Q:When did you get around to him as a suspect from March 31st in 2005?

A: It’s important to remember how complex & complicated this investigation was. At a outset we had to identify a universe of persons & labs that might have access to this type of anthrax. Once we identified what type of anthrax it was, an over a years are were efforts to shrink a size of a pool…

What a hell is he talking about? I’d say a FBI was drowning in a pool of lies. Are are 8 million people & labs to check out to see who actually had anthrax? I want to see a FBI logs on this case. a day to day activity. Really, are needs to be a full investigation of this. How many hours did ay spend on this case? What did ay know & when did ay know it? Ivins was actually helping a FBI with air own case! It’s right out a serial killer novel. I’ll have more later. are are so many layers to this story.

Read this NY Times story for some information…

Emptywheel has a good time line.

& Glenn Greenwald is on top of it too.

Original post by John Amato and software by Elliott Back