The FBI calls Amerithrax one of the largest investigations in its history: more than 10,000 witness interviews on six continents, 80 searches and more than 6,000 items of evidence. Five Americans were killed and 17 sickened. In August 2008 officials said charges were about to be brought against Dr. Bruce Ivins, an Army scientist who had taken his own life. The case was formally closed on 19 February 2010. [1]
What we can’t tell you. Ivins was never tried, so the evidence was never tested in court.
The National Academies concluded: “It is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the B. anthracis in the mailings based on the available scientific evidence alone.” The anthrax was the Ames strain and not genetically engineered. [1]
The FBI answered that while science played a significant role, “it was the totality of the investigative process that determined the outcome.” [2]
What we can’t tell you. The Academies did not review the non-scientific evidence.
The Bureau says the whole investigation, not science alone, identified Bruce Ivins.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE
The claims, rated.
3 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.
DOCUMENTED Wars, surveillance & the aftermath
“The anthrax letters killed five Americans.”
Five were killed and 17 sickened; the case closed in 2010.
No evidence ties the letters to al Qaeda or Iraq. The FBI concluded an Army scientist acted alone, and the science was consistent with a flask at his lab.
Comment, dispute or support a claim, submit a source or rate this page through a short Google Form. It asks you to sign in with Google so we know you are a real person; your email is never shown. Nothing appears here until it has been reviewed. Conversation on X tagged #AIFiles #AIFiles911 shows up below after the daily refresh.
Approved reader comments and ratings are shown on the interactive edition. This plain reading edition does not load them.
On X
This plain reading edition does not load posts. You can read this subject’s threads on the forum: Forum: #AIFiles911.
Reader comments are shown only after review, and rows removed from the form’s sheet disappear at the next refresh. X posts are a read-only daily snapshot; posts deleted or made private there are removed at the next refresh. Inclusion is not endorsement. A submitted source stays pending review until a page update says otherwise.
Approved reader comments and ratings are shown on the interactive edition. This plain reading edition does not load them.