U.S. settles with anthrax mailings subject Steven Hatfill for $5.82 million

The former Army scientist who was the prime suspect in the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings agreed Friday to take $5.82 million from the government to settle his claim that the Justice Department and the FBI invaded his privacy and ruined his career.

Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, 54, who was called a "person of interest" in the case by then-Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft in 2002, said that label and repeated leaks of investigative details to the media damaged his reputation.

For months in the anxious atmosphere after Sept. 11, Hatfill was subjected to 24-hour surveillance and was widely identified as the leading suspect in the nation's first bioterrorism attack. However, he was never arrested or charged and a federal judge presiding over his lawsuit said recently that there "is not a scintilla of evidence" linking him to the mailings.

Former federal prosecutors knowledgeable about the investigation said the government payout to Hatfill signified that, in all likelihood, he would never be charged.

A spokesman for the Justice Department said the anthrax case "remains among the department's highest law enforcement priorities." Brian Roehrkasse also said in a statement that by agreeing to settle the lawsuit, the government "does not admit to any violation of the Privacy Act and continues to deny all liability in connection with Dr. Hatfill's claims."

The settlement calls for an immediate $2.82-million payment to Hatfill. Beginning in 2009, the government will pay Hatfill an annuity of $150,000 a year for 20 years, according to court papers.

Hatfill's lawyer, Thomas C. Connolly, said that his client would have no comment on the settlement. "We took this case to defend very fundamental principles of fairness," Connolly said.

Another lawyer for Hatfill, Mark A. Grannis, said Friday: "If anybody in the country really knew what it was like to be Steven Hatfill for the past six years, nobody would trade places with him." Grannis faulted "a handful of credulous reporters," who he said published or broadcast government leaks of "gossip, speculation and misinformation."

The lawsuit was filed in August 2003, but U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton delayed permitting Hatfill's lawyers to question FBI and Justice officials or news reporters for two more years. The government contended that the depositions of agents and FBI leaders could interfere with the investigation.