FBI ending probe of anthrax attack on Congress

The FBI said the prime suspect of its investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks might have targeted Capitol Hill out of frustration with members of the Senate.

The FBI released thousands of pages of documents related to the case on Wednesday, including files indicating that Army scientist Bruce Ivins might have felt “frustrations with members of the United States Senate.”

{mosads}U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said the Department of Justice (DoJ) believes that Ivins was the only person responsible for the attacks.

Ivins committed suicide last week, and the DoJ stated that it is beginning to wrap up its investigation with the death of its sole suspect. The 2001 anthrax attacks killed five people and rattled a nation still shaken from the Sept. 11 terrorist strike.

Then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) were targeted in the attacks, which were carried out by sending anthrax to their offices and media outlets.

Justice Department officials held an hour-long staff briefing on the case Wednesday morning in the Senate. The briefing was attended by about 50 staffers from both the House and Senate.

The offices of Leahy and Daschle, who now works for the Washington law firm Alston & Bird, were contacted by The Hill on Wednesday but did not comment on the latest development.

However, Daschle on Sunday said he was not satisfied with the investigation, adding that “the American people deserve more of an accounting on this investigation.”

The former Senate leader also said it is “unfortunate” that he had not been briefed on the latest developments in the case.

“I mean, from the very beginning, I’ve had real concerns about the quality of the investigation,” he said on Fox News Sunday, adding, “The fact that they already paid somebody else $5 million for the mistakes they must have made gives you some indication of the overall caliber and quality of the investigation.”

The FBI had initially targeted bioscientist Stephen Hatfill as a “person of interest” but eventually cleared him and was forced to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit from Hatfill.