Holt wants hearings on FBI anthrax investigation

[George Washington's comment: To see what this has to do with 9/11, read this]

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070303/FRONT01/70303016

TRENTON --Rep. Rush Holt (D-Princeton) wants hearings into what he says is a lack of headway in the FBI's investigation into the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001.

"It seems to me this investigation is not making progress. I can't say for sure. They
won't brief me," Holt told The Times of Trenton for Saturday newspapers.

"Not briefing Congress on the status of the probe into the biggest biological attack in United States history is inexcusable," he said.

The anthrax attacks through the postal system killed five people across the country and sickened 17 in the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001. Investigators have not determined who was responsible for the attacks.

Over the years, Holt has been a vocal critic of the bureau's handling of the case,
especially because anthrax contamination was found in mail facilities in and near Holt's district.

Holt on Friday called on four committee chairmen and one subcommittee chairman in the House to hold oversight hearings into the investigation. His request may carry more weight now that his party is in the majority in Congress.

Several earlier attempts to receive information failed. In September and October 2006, Holt formally requesting that the FBI brief Congress on the investigation. He was denied.

In December, a bipartisan group of 32 House and Senate members called on Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to direct that the FBI brief Congress on the investigation. That request was also denied.

Richard J. Kolko, a bureau spokesman, defended the handling of the anthrax probe, saying it is "one of the largest and most complex" ever conducted. He said the investigation is still a high priority.

Investigating the Anthrax attacks.

If there is any way we can help with this investigation, in addition to contacting our representatives in gov't, it would be cool to be made aware of it. I think this investigation could very well lead straight to the people we need to put behind bars and hold accountable. Let's hope. And Great Post.

I agree 100%!

This has to be tied to the attacks on the WTC. Though I've seen many try to assert that is has nothing to do with it. I'm glad to see Mr. Holt stand up about this. Why the hell don't the others?

Wow! This puts the heat on the perps!

I hope this moves forward and gets some mainstream press coverage! This could be BIG, and it's important, and highly relevant. Any anthrax attack researchers among us? Can you give us the low down on it again, and refresh our memories? Thanks.

I'm VERY excited about this! Thanks for posting Yarrow Mahko!
____________________________
“We will export death and violence to the four corners of the earth”
~ George W. Bush

After last year's elections,

After last year's elections, in which the Dems attained the majority, there was a lot of posting here concerning some Congress official whose duty is to investigate abuses etc. A lot of hope was put in this individual, who was describes as tenacious, as a "bloodhound" (or something like that).

I can't remember his position or name, but I remember a lot was written about him at the time.

Henry Waxman

It was Rep. Henry Waxman from Florida I'm pretty sure. Supposedly Democrats have subpoena power now, although I haven't heard of them using it. All we can do is publicize these problems and look for opportunities to "take action" on items when we can. It's too bad we can't do more.

Correction

It was Waxman, you can find it in the archived blog "Call in the Bulldog." He is from Los Angeles, California, not Florida. I took the initiative to write Waxman every week for several months after the Nov elections to try and jumpstart some new hearings, and as of yet haven't even received an acknowledgement of my letters.

Regardless, there is so much abuse and corruption by the Repub party at this point these guys are overwhelmed. 

Reality got you down? Read the La Rochelle Times: http://www.rochelletimes.blogspot.com

Yes it was him

Is there reason to believe he might actually be willing to dig into 9/11?

I've read that two of the recipients of the Anthrax letters were Democratic leaders trying to slow down Patriot Act legislation. However, this was only a week since 9/11. Was the legislation really being pushed *that* quickly?

Heres some info and opinion

Heres some info and opinion on the attacks that I copied from the discussion page on the wikipedia entry:

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Is it surprising that the CIA and FBI haven’t exposed the anthrax killers? Are the anthrax killers near the top of the FBI’s most wanted list? We do know this about the anthrax murders:

1. The letters contained highly classified weaponized anthrax (Ames Iowa strain, weaponized at Fort Detrick Maryland) developed by the U.S. military and/or the CIA.

2. The letters were mailed from Trenton New Jersey while the Republicans were trying to jam through the Patriot Act that would give President Bush unprecedented power to disregard Americans’ civil rights, increase defense spending, control the media and wage war.

3. Anthrax letters were mailed to:

a) Tom Brokaw of NBC Nightly News (A fairly balanced news network)

b) The New York Post. (A high profile, fairly balanced newspaper)

c) A boy died of anthrax after visiting ABC news (A fairly balanced U.S. news agency)

d) A editor for the National Enquirer died of anthrax (A very widely distributed and widely hated tabloid that is prone to sensationalize conspiracy theories)

e) A mailroom worker contracted anthrax at CBS News (A fairly balanced U.S. news agency)

The media was driven into hysteria from the Anthrax letters and fervently backed the war on Terror. Note that anthrax letters were not sent to war loving media giants FOX or CNN.

f) Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat, S.D.) received the first Senate anthrax letter as he led the opposition to the original version of the Patriot Act.

g) Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vt.) received an anthrax letter after he expressed reservations about the Patriot Act. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he managed the debate on the Bill.

4. No Republicans received anthrax letters. George Bush Sr and Collin Powell didn’t receive anthrax letters. No CIA agents, Military Personnel, Weapons Dealers, Oil Companies or Jewish Organizations receive anthrax letters. No large public gatherings were targeted with anthrax. (This all lends serious doubt that either Arab militants or Saddam Hussein were behind the letters)

5. The Letters contained scribbled words “Death to America, Death to Israel, Allah is Great” that were written by someone worried that his handwriting could be traced. Tom Brokaw, Tom Daschle, Patrick Leahy and the NY Post have no obvious connection to Israel. The anthrax letters, instead, looked like they might have been forged to frame Islamic militants. After receiving his anthrax letter, Senator Daschle switched from supporting a 2 year limit on the Patriot Act, later defending a 4-year sunset clause as the appropriate balance.

6. The letters were precisely targeted and perfectly timed to unite the media and the opposition (Democrats) in the War on Terror, the War on Afghanistan and the War on Iraq.

7. The letters (only 4 were positively identified) did not kill their intended targets, but the anthrax material was so sophisticated that the spores passed through the envelopes and infected people all along their path--including secretaries and postal workers. Five people are known to have died from inhaling spores from these letters, and 13 others were infected but survived.

8. The Anthrax Letters created the maximum amount of terror with the minimum loss of life.

9. Dozens of hoax anthrax threats have been widely publicized in the media. The CIA and Bush administration have promoted some of these hoax threats – encouraging many American to buy gas masks and seal off their houses with duct tape. Faulty (read: fabricated) CIA “intelligence” about Iraqi Anthrax built hysterical U.S. support for an invasion despite serious doubts from Americans, Brits and most of their closest allies. Hoax anthrax scares are still creating front page headlines and extreme terror throughout North America.

10. The day after the anthrax letters were mailed to Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy (6 days before either Senator received the letters), the original batch of Ames strain anthrax was destroyed with the permission of the FBI --- making tracing this anthrax type much more difficult. Could it be incompetence, conspiracy or cover up that, two months after the anthrax attacks started, the FBI still had not investigated the only facility capable of producing weaponized anthrax -- the biological warfare program based at Fort Detrick Maryland.

11. Within a ten day period, immediately after the USA Patriot Act was passed, three top anthrax experts with knowledge of the U.S. bioweapons program died under suspicious circumstances. Within four months 8 more world-leading microbiologists were killed. Coincidentally, the controversial coroner of one microbiologist (Don Wiley) was later found wrapped in barbed wire with a live bomb strapped to his chest.

12. British microbiologist, weapons expert and would-be whistle blower David Kelly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kelly) died in an “alleged suicide” on July 17, 2003 – amidst world wide publicity that the U.S. and Britain had invaded Iraq largely based on fabricated “intelligence”. Half the world was anxiously waiting for further news releases on Kelly just before his mysterious death. It is notable that on the morning of his death, Kelly e-mailed New York Times reporter Judith Miller (of Valery Plame leak and Lewis Libby Indictment fame) and told her that many dark actors were playing games. (Email sent by Dr Kelly to Judith Miller on July 17, 2003) Were some of these dead microbiologists capable of exposing the anthrax killers? Had they been e-mailing each other about the attacks? This stuff has got all the makings of a detective thriller other than creating any serious doubts as to who was responsible for the letters. The only thing that really has to be established is a motive.

(A) Did the perpetrators mail the letters because they honestly believed that the American people needed to be shaken up – even after 9/11 – in order to face the threat of suicide bombers?

(B) Did the perpetrators mail the letters to cash in on hysterical support for:

a. Increased Weapons Spending? Hundreds of billions of dollars are going into somebody’s pockets.

b. An Invasion of Afghanistan with its strategic presence along the east border of Iran, and the oil-rich Caspian Sea?

c. An Invasion of Iraq (on allegations of stockpiling anthrax and other WMDs) with its strategic presence along the west border of Iran.

d. An invasion of Iran with current (delayed) allegations of its complicity in 9-11 and the terrorist attacks?

e. Complete control of the oil-rich Middle East?

f. Note that Shell Oil is paying $150 million in fines to the SEC and FSA for overstating its reserves by (at least) 20%. Shell’s auditors warned the company as early as January 2000 that its reserves were overstated. Could other oil companies also have been overstating their reserves and pressuring the U.S. and British governments for access to oil in Iraq, the Caspian Sea, Iran, (and Venezuela)?

(C) Did the perpetrators mail the letters because they wanted to create a massive distraction from the financial meltdown on Wall Street that was being caused by widespread exposure of corporate corruption (ENRON, WorldCom, Merck, Arthur Anderson, Halliburton etc. etc. etc.)?

The people who profit the most from a crime are the people most likely to have committed it. Who profited the most from the Anthrax letters?

I really hope that the answer to the above multiple choice question is (A) but it makes you want to get some straight facts from the people Americans are trusting with their lives.

It would be better than Santa Clause if there was a believable: (D) None of the above; answer

Who else has a clear, believable motive to precisely target the media and the opposition with anthrax?

Remember how Karl Rove and Lewis Libby were willing to pre-emptively threaten the life of Valerie Plame (by leaking her identity to the press) to prevent Joseph Wilson from providing America with good intelligence on Iraq’s (non-existent) WMDs? Remember how Bush was willing to use the forged “Yellowcake” document? How much of a stretch is it to assume that one or two members of Bush’s administration were willing to brutally threaten the media and the main senate opponents to the Iraq war????

Remember that some of the people that were so desperate to invade Iraq were among the few people in the world capable of accessing the weaponized anthrax from Fort Detrick.

It's chilling that it might only take a few hundred people, a few billion dollars, some orchestrated scare tactics and a lot of greed to completely hijack a government with an annual budget of a trillion dollars.

Even with all the inconsistencies surrounding 9/11, Bush's team figures that it's in their best self-interest not to co-operate with investigations. What are they trying to hide? Are people just too apathetic or dumb to need to know what's going on in the world?

Like Bush said, terrorists have to be brought to justice—no matter who they are.

It would be best if the whole Bush Administration (Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Lewis Libby, Karl Rove, Paul Wolfwitz, John Ashcroft, John Bolton, Trent Lott, Richard Perle etc) was put on polygraphs to see if they know of any conspiracies around the WTC bombings, Anthrax letters or Iraq invasion.

For consistency, other Washington insiders like Zbigniew Brzezinski, Tom Daschle, Patrick Leahy, John Kerry etc should also be put on lie detectors.

It’s laughable that lowly police officers and CIA agents are rigorously tested with polygraphs, but the directors appointed to control the agencies are considered “untouchable”, “beyond suspicion” and “above the law”– even during global debacles like 9/11, the War on Terror and the War on Iraq.
____________________________________________

This provides us with a superb analysis

I am commenting on this so as to bookmark it. I plan to consult this excellent WIKI comment, if ever I need to refer to the US anthrax attacks. I have little doubt, and strong suspicion, that the folks behind this one are also behind the 9-11 attacks.

f) Senate Majority Leader

f) Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat, S.D.) received the first Senate anthrax letter as he led the opposition to the original version of the Patriot Act.

g) Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vt.) received an anthrax letter after he expressed reservations about the Patriot Act.

So when precisely was the original version of the Patriot Act introduced?

No surprise: Voters say no to new 9/11 investigation

Published: Wednesday, March 7, 2007
By John Briggs
Free Press Staff Writer

Burlington voters Tuesday rejected a local group's call for a new investigation of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, by a nearly two-to-one ratio.

The vote was 3,150 to 1,817. The ballot question passed 39-17 in Lincoln, proponent Matthew Ennis said. The issue never generated much debate in Burlington.

"I'm very surprised," said Marc Estrin, spokesman for the Burlington group, which gained enough signatures to place the question on the ballot. "I was expecting the opposite direction."

The ballot item would have asked Vermont's congressional delegation to push for a new investigation. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch made clear in January that they weren't likely to move in that direction.

The question won approval in Wards 2 and 3 -- 71 percent in favor in the latter -- but lost in the city's remaining five wards, with more than 70 percent of voters in Wards 4, 6 and 7 voting no.

Word that the question would appear on Burlington's ballot spread quickly across the nation among proponents of a new investigation, and The Burlington Free Press received a number of e-mails applauding news that voters would, for the first time, be able to weigh in on the subject.

Proponents of a new investigation have argued that the official probe, reported in the "9/11 Commission Report," was deliberately narrowed and, as a result, inadequate.

"Clearly," Estrin said, "we have to get together and strategize -- decide where we go from here."

He said that while he was surprised by the vote in Burlington, the issue is "complex. It's a very off-putting idea," he said. "Very many smart people who follow the news and don't support George Bush don't want to go there."

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070307/N...

"I'm very surprised," said

"I'm very surprised," said Marc Estrin, spokesman for the Burlington group

I wonder if this really is suprising or if they were overoptimistic.

Over 42 percent supported their views. How has this region been seen in terms of receptivity to 9/11 skepticism?

more important:

Who counted the votes?

AND what kind of publicity did each side have?

____

Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero

WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force

 

Anthrax Attacks

Have you noticed how this topic is COMPLETELY off the idiot box now that Dr.Hatfill has been proven to be not culpable for this homegrown USAMRIID brainchild FAKE Attack ?

During Dr.Hatfill's so called "person of interest" affair, he once had FIB goons following him so closely that a FIB car ran over his foot as he was crossing the street. Subsequently he was charged with J-walking while the FIB goons were of course, let off scot free.

Now, the Whoreish MSM has not uttered ONE SINGLE WORD about the Anthrax Attacks. No mention of the status of the investigation, no other "persons of interest", no timeline of the investigation, NO NOTHING. While drivel and useless crap about that idiotic moron Britney Spears is shoved down the throat of every braindead zombified 'Murican Sheeple.

So, Whoreish MSM, Why are you not reporting anything about the most devastating and horrific biological attack against the US in the history of it existence ?

Simple. Because the anthrax attacks are intimately tied to the 911 HOAX. Indeed, after the debacle regarding Flight 93 and the "crash" in Shanksville, the Anthrax Attacks were hurriedly carried out as Plan B, since the original plan of decapitating the US Capitol and the entire Federal Gov't failed.

The Anthrax Attack letters are so poorly written and obvious fakes, that even a Seventh Grader would know that it was an obvious frame-up attempt/misdirection lobbied against Al-CIA-duh.

The real terrorists as always are located in the US Military/AMRIID base/CIA/NMCC , thus the deafening silence from our Whore-ish MSM.

Anthrax

Another reason people are not talking.
______________
Together in Truth!

When was the Patriot Act written?

"I've read that two of the recipients of the Anthrax letters were Democratic leaders trying to slow down Patriot Act legislation. However, this was only a week since 9/11. Was the legislation really being pushed *that* quickly?

Submitted by Vesa on Wed, 03/07/2007 -"

Vesa, I understand that the Patriot Act was sitting on Dick Cheney's desk BEFORE 911. It was hundreds (or is that "thousands"?) of pages long. You don't whip that up over night. Want to make any bets against the fact that it was written in the PNAC headquarters years before 911?

This is Congress' Job

I'm pretty sure that investigating the anthrax attacks counts as defending against enemies, whether foreign or domestic.

Or do oaths not really matter?

The Eleventh Day of Every Month

Great post-thanks IS for more info:

I forgot how important this anthrax matter is to our cause. Great to bring it back up, maybe it could be a back door strategy to getting 911 Truth out there.

Sad to hear about the Burlington vote, but if the numbers 1800 vs 3200 represent Truthers to apathetics/naive/idiots/traitorous scum (sorry, at this point I've lost all respect for non-Truthers) then we are above the 50% line, at least in Burlington(and I consider that city to be a little more progressive, so suppose these numbers are more troubling). 5.5 years and millions of web pages later. Don't know if I feel better or not. But, the info about the anthrax episode is pretty scary.

Just went to the Burlington Free Press, so many responses to my yesterday comment, ow, I'm smarting! They tore me apart-but I couldn't edit or post.

Damn, that was FUN!!!
Thanks for the post, I'll send it off to local weeklies.

A Shot across the bow

This anthrax attack was a sign to "public" officials to keep their mouths shut, Daschle and Leahy, basically represented Democratic opposition during this time frame, and it was a clear signal to them particularly that forces beyond their control can reach them any time they wanted, their silence bought the safety.

Death to America, Death to Israel

uh huh. now google fort detrick AND camel club.

and see what you come up with!

____

Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero

WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force

 

here's the anthrax scoop - pretty obvious why it's been buried

and why they are lying now about it not being a military strain...

The truly nighmarish aspect of all this is Hatfill's glaringly obvious innocence. The case against him is entirely circumstantial, based on his public pronouncements on the subject of bio-terrorism and a "profile" of the anthrax killer worked up by scientist Barbara Hatch Rosenberg. On the other hand, the trail of some pretty substantial evidence leads in another direction altogether, one that has been inexplicably neglected by law enforcement agencies and the news media, but is, nevertheless, a matter of public record.

In late September, 2001, days before the anthrax story broke – but after the deadly missives had been mailed – an anonymous letter arrived at military police headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, stating that Dr. Ayaad Assaad, who formerly worked at Ft. Detrick, was the mastermind behind a bio-terrorist plot. The letter's author demonstrated a detailed knowledge of Dr. Assaad's life and work at USAMRIID, tending to validate the claim of this poison-pen author to have once worked with the Egyptian-born scientist.

The FBI soon cleared Dr. Assaad of any connection with the anthrax, but his story – of how his former colleagues at Ft. Detrick, who called themselves the "camel club," targeted him and essentially set him up for just such an accusation – points so clearly in the direction of the real culprits that it's hard to believe this aspect of the case has been completely ignored.

Security was so lax at the Ft. Detrick bio-terror facility that, in the early 1990s, an investigation turned up the disturbing news that 26 sets of deadly specimens – including anthrax, hanta virus, and two labeled "unknown" – were found to be "missing." As the Courant reports, investigators also found a surveillance camera tape:

"Documents from the inquiry show that one unauthorized person who was observed entering the lab building at night was Langford's predecessor, Lt. Col. Philip Zack, who at the time no longer worked at Fort Detrick. A surveillance camera recorded Zack being let in at 8:40 p.m. on Jan. 23, 1992, apparently by Marian Rippy, a lab pathologist and close friend of Zack's, according to a report filed by a security guard."

Zack and Rippy were part of the "camel club," which had left insulting and obscene messages in the mailboxes of Arab scientists at Ft. Detrick – including a 235-line poem, which included the following:

"In (Assaad's) honor we created this beast; it represents life lower than yeast."

The "beast" referred to is a rubber camel outfitted with sexually explicit appendages, apparently another "camel club"-sponsored activity.

In tracking down the real culprit in the anthrax attacks, it would seem that an attempt to frame someone as the anthrax terrorist just as the attacks commenced would be a clue of some significance. The history of Ft. Detrick's "camel club" might also be seen as a hint of what direction the investigation ought to take.

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j080403.html

____

Real Truther a.k.a. Verdadero Verdadero

WTCdemolition.com - Harvard Task Force

 

60 Minutes is doing a report on this Sunday

After all this time, at least Sixty Minutes is looking into it again. The report is based on Dr. Steven Hatfill and the resulting depositions of FBI personnel and law enforcement records obtained by 60 Minutes because of his 2003 lawsuit, which they claim contain some "revelations". So we will learn something. Imo, 60M is still better than most of the other news sources. (most of the time)

Tables Turned In Anthrax Investigation

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/09/60minutes/main2552906.shtml

----
Ad hominem per factum, beyotch!
You are undeservedly egotistical.... often laughably so.
Pseudo-intellectuality does not behoove you.

I've watched 60 Minutes

I've watched 60 Minutes deceive their audience repeatedly; they have no cred with me. However, when they decide to be honest, they are capable of doing a good job.

Want to figure out 9/11? Ponder the 9/11 "Mineta Stone"