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docbungle · 08-27-2003, 03:30 PM

From USA Today, August 27

Scientist in anthrax probe sues Ashcroft, FBI; says rights violated
By Toni Locy
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON -- A former researcher at an Army lab accused Attorney General John Ashcroft and the FBI Tuesday of improperly casting suspicion on him in the 2001 anthrax attacks to fool the public into believing progress was being made in the investigation.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court here, Steven Hatfill, 48, says top Justice and FBI officials violated his constitutional rights ''to promote their own personal and political interests'' when the investigation stalled last summer.

Hatfill is the only person the Justice Department has identified publicly as ''a person of interest'' in the anthrax investigation. The lawsuit says FBI and Justice officials have raised suspicion about Hatfill ''without formally naming him as a suspect or charging him with any wrongdoing.''

Five people died and thousands were forced to take antibiotics after anthrax-laden letters were mailed to media outlets and two U.S. senators in the fall of 2001.

For a year, FBI agents have kept Hatfill, a former researcher at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., under round-the-clock surveillance, following him everywhere he goes.

The lawsuit says Justice officials ordered Louisiana State University last year to fire Hatfill from a $150,000-a-year teaching job funded by the federal government.

FBI agents cost Hatfill another job by videotaping him and a potential employer as they emerged from a job interview, the suit says.

Specifically, the lawsuit says the FBI and Justice Department have violated Hatfill's privacy and his Fifth Amendment right to life, liberty and property by interfering with his employment prospects.

FBI and Justice officials declined to comment.

Hatfill wants a federal judge to rule that FBI and Justice Department officials acted improperly and to order them not to violate his rights. He also is seeking unspecified monetary damages.

''This lawsuit is not just about Steven Hatfill,'' said attorney Thomas Connolly, who is representing Hatfill for free. ''It is about the enormous power government officials have. . . . Whatever the government can legally do to Steven Hatfill, it can legally do to any of us.''

Connolly said Hatfill had nothing to do with the attacks. Hatfill, a virology expert, has never worked with anthrax, the lawsuit says, nor been to Princeton, N.J., where the letters were mailed.

The lawsuit says Ashcroft is the first attorney general to use the term ''person of interest'' in an investigation. An internal Justice Department probe found that Ashcroft had done nothing wrong in using the term.

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What bastards, eh?

08-27-2003, 03:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
docbungle It's all downhill from here Location: Denver	FBI gets sued, and rightfully so. From USA Today, August 27 Scientist in anthrax probe sues Ashcroft, FBI; says rights violated By Toni Locy USA TODAY WASHINGTON -- A former researcher at an Army lab accused Attorney General John Ashcroft and the FBI Tuesday of improperly casting suspicion on him in the 2001 anthrax attacks to fool the public into believing progress was being made in the investigation. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court here, Steven Hatfill, 48, says top Justice and FBI officials violated his constitutional rights ''to promote their own personal and political interests'' when the investigation stalled last summer. Hatfill is the only person the Justice Department has identified publicly as ''a person of interest'' in the anthrax investigation. The lawsuit says FBI and Justice officials have raised suspicion about Hatfill ''without formally naming him as a suspect or charging him with any wrongdoing.'' Five people died and thousands were forced to take antibiotics after anthrax-laden letters were mailed to media outlets and two U.S. senators in the fall of 2001. For a year, FBI agents have kept Hatfill, a former researcher at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md., under round-the-clock surveillance, following him everywhere he goes. The lawsuit says Justice officials ordered Louisiana State University last year to fire Hatfill from a $150,000-a-year teaching job funded by the federal government. FBI agents cost Hatfill another job by videotaping him and a potential employer as they emerged from a job interview, the suit says. Specifically, the lawsuit says the FBI and Justice Department have violated Hatfill's privacy and his Fifth Amendment right to life, liberty and property by interfering with his employment prospects. FBI and Justice officials declined to comment. Hatfill wants a federal judge to rule that FBI and Justice Department officials acted improperly and to order them not to violate his rights. He also is seeking unspecified monetary damages. ''This lawsuit is not just about Steven Hatfill,'' said attorney Thomas Connolly, who is representing Hatfill for free. ''It is about the enormous power government officials have. . . . Whatever the government can legally do to Steven Hatfill, it can legally do to any of us.'' Connolly said Hatfill had nothing to do with the attacks. Hatfill, a virology expert, has never worked with anthrax, the lawsuit says, nor been to Princeton, N.J., where the letters were mailed. The lawsuit says Ashcroft is the first attorney general to use the term ''person of interest'' in an investigation. An internal Justice Department probe found that Ashcroft had done nothing wrong in using the term. _________________________________________________ What bastards, eh? __________________ Bad Luck City