By Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer|August 02, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department said today it had made "substantial progress" in the investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks, but officials declined to comment on a report in The Los Angeles Times that the department was about to bring the first criminal charges for the attacks against a Maryland man who died this week.
The Times reported that a top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 attacks died Tuesday from an apparent suicide just as the Justice Department was about to file charges against him.
Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who for the last 28 years worked at the government's elite biodefense research laboratories at Ft. Detrick, Md., had been informed of his impending prosecution, said people familiar with Ivins, his suspicious death and the FBI Investigation.
His name had not been disclosed publicly as a suspect in the case.
A lawyer representing Ivins said today that his client was innocent.
"For six years, Dr. Ivins fully cooperated with [the anthrax] investigation, assisting the government in every way that was asked of him," attorney Paul Kemp said in a prepared statement. "We are saddened by his death, and disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to defend his good name and reputation in a court of law.
"We assert his innocence in these killings, and would have established that at trial. The relentless pressure of accusation and innuendo takes its toll in different ways on different people, as has already been seen in this investigation. In Dr. Ivins' case, it led to his untimely death."
The Justice Department said in a statement there had been "significant developments in the investigation," including "substantial progress" using "new and sophisticated scientific tools."
Officials declined to confirm or deny The Times' report. They indicated they wanted to update victims of the attacks about the investigation before making further details public. Officials also said that "investigative documents remain under court seal."
"We anticipate being able to provide additional details in the near future," the statement said.
The attacks killed five people, injured 17 others and traumatized the nation weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
On Capitol Hill, the target of several of the anthrax-laced letters, members of Congress pressed the FBI for more information.
