Judge Delays Lawsuit To Help Anthrax Probe

[Sinistrous]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34674-2004Mar29.html

Judge Delays Lawsuit To Help Anthrax Probe

By Carol D. Leonnig and Allan Lengel
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, March 30, 2004; Page B02

A federal judge said yesterday that confidential information recently provided to him by the Justice Department shows that the investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks is now at a "critical" and "sensitive" stage and could unearth significant leads by early July.


U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said the FBI investigation should be allowed to proceed "in an unfettered way," and he granted the government's request to postpone for six months the defamation lawsuit that former Army scientist Steven J. Hatfill filed last summer against the department and Attorney General John D. Ashcroft.

The judge said that, for now, the complex search for the person who sent the anthrax-laced letters outweighs Hatfill's contention that Ashcroft and other federal authorities ruined his life by calling him a "person of interest" in the case.

"I have to give them the opportunity to continue their investigation," Walton said of the FBI's 29-month probe, called "Amerithrax." "It obviously needs to be solved if it can be solved. I know there are going to be some events occurring in the near future. "

<more>

"...some events occurring in the near future." Probably about next October, I bet.

[peterh]

1. Irrespective of one’s opinion of Hatfield….

This judge is suspect in my opinion….
Three presidential appointments….
First by rayguns
Second by twit I
Third by twit II

Hmmmmm…..

http://www.wcl.american.edu/alumni/2002/02waltonappoint.cfm

[jean]

2. They named the probe "Amerithrax" does that mean domestic terrorism?

[necso]

3. This is about postponing more embarrassment for the misadministration.

Hatfill had nothing to do with the attacks. He was just an easy target for another corrupted "investigation" (call it "intelligence gathering and analysis"), based upon another misguided, preconceived notion (disgruntled scientist acting alone). That he is/was the sort of fellow that the left loves to hate was just icing on the cake. The sort of character assassination that *'s boys did to this guy should be familiar to everyone by now. This whole routine of "find what we were determined to find in the first place --- facts be damned --- and crush anybody who stands in our way or says different" should be familiar to everyone by now.

The most that is going to come out of this "critical" and "sensitive" stage of the "investigation" is lining up some more patsies... or better lining up the current patsy. Probably nothing will come out of it at all. Certainly the truth isn't coming out before November.

[Old and In the Way]

4. Will the investigation include why this administration started taking

Cipro before any Anthrax attack was known? From what I've read, Cipro is not a preventative medication. It's meant to be taken only in the presence of a known Anthrax attack.

This and the short trades on airline stock need to be explained.

[MetaTrope]

5. About the short trades on airline stock

I've heard that charts showing them display the September spike quite dramatically...but I can't find a chart of it. Has anybody got a link to one online?

[tlcandie]

6. Would love to believe his honorable reason given, but I don't...

Just getting too cynical and believe it is to take heat off of this cabal before elections because there's so much heat they are taking now from all corners.

And besides why the hell has it taken this long to even get this much?! It should have been in the courts AGES ago and settled IMO!