Rep. Rush Holt

Congressmen say FBI has some explaining to do

Anthrax investigation should be investigated, congressmen say

Sen. Charles Grassley and Rep. Rush Holt want hearings into the Justice Department and FBI's handling of the case.

By Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 8, 2008

Source: LATimes.com

WASHINGTON -- After seven long years, the FBI and the Justice Department say they are closing the books on the anthrax investigation.

But the investigation into the investigation is only beginning, and it will focus on what Congress members described Thursday as apparent missteps by authorities that dramatically prolonged the probe, unfairly maligned an innocent government scientist, and raised questions about whether federal agents had conclusively ruled out other suspects besides microbiologist Bruce E. Ivins.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.), frequent critics of the FBI, demanded a far more detailed release of documents by the bureau and the Justice Department to support the government's case, as well as congressional hearings into the investigation.

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