The FBI’s selective release of documents in the anthrax case

Glenn Greenwald
Salon
August 7, 2008

After obtaining a federal judge’s approval to unseal the documents in the anthrax investigation, the FBI has released selected documents relating to its case against Bruce Ivins. Those documents can be viewed here.

I’m in the process of reviewing these documents and will post preliminary thoughts here as I do so, updating this post as I make my way through them, and then will undoubtedly have more to write after I am able to speak with some experts with regard to the FBI’s scientific claims.

One critical caveat to keep at the forefront of one’s mind is that when one side is in exclusive possession of all documents and can pick and choose which ones to release in full or in part in order to make their case, while leaving out the parts that undercut the picture they want to paint - which is exactly what the FBI is doing here — then it is very easy to make things look however you want.

The first FBI listed document -- the October, 2007 Probable Cause Affidavit from Postal Inspector Thomas Dellafera (here -- .pdf), summarizes the Government's case against Ivins as of that time, and it is a good starting point. That document, standing alone, contains some persuasive circumstantial evidence against Ivins -- no doubt about it. But it also contains very little scientific evidence, and more to the point, circumstantial evidence is extremely easy to manipulate when you're the only one who has it.

One of the most notable aspects of that document is the motive attributed to Ivins, which is several-fold (much of which is grounded in its attribution to Ivins of a right-wing political agenda):
FULL ARTICLE @ Salon