Remember that week before last, Junkdrawer, suffragette, Mabus and I pointed out that Bruce Ivins could not be in Princeton at 5pm if he was in Frederick at 4:30 or so. That was in response to a WaPo story where FBI claimed he took off work early to mail anthrax. Glenn Greenwald wrote it up this way:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/200...

So, last week, they floated another story that has him gassing up after his 4:30ish meeting and going "off the radar" and "presumably" driving to Princeton on the night of 9/17. They have nothing except probably a credit card receipt for a gas purchase. (The headline focuses on the hair evidence but the part about the driving tries to get in there "off the radar"):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...

Then, yesterday, NYTs prints two important concessions by the FBI. Bruce Ivins DID NOT try to mislead them when he submitted the samples from his lab that they requested. There was a foul up in the format that he used but he did submit a sample from the stock he was in charge of.

And, those envelopes that were supposedly so rare -- well, it turns out they weren't so rare.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/washingt...

Let's review: Bruce Ivins passed two polygraphs. No traces were found in his car, around his residence or on him. He DIDN'T try to deceive the FBI when he submitted the samples of his stock that they asked for. The envelopes used in the mailings cannot be reasonably traced to him. The FBI cannot place him at the scene and since "closing" their case, they have changed their story twice -- so far. No expert that is not connected to the government has agreed that Ivins could even have produced the anthrax product in those mailings. None of his emails or reported conversations or other kinds of communications show that he was enraged about anything or anyone. He had opinions about metal dectors in airports and he was an observant Catholic but there's no footprint that shows him going off against abortion or Muslims or anything, actually. On the contrary, there are letters archived at the Frederick News- Post that sound a lot like most of us here.

What do they have left? The only thing they really have was that Bruce Ivins was in treatment for mental health issues. But they try to play those, too. They discard his own report when he says he worked late because "home wasn't good" but then, in their own search warrant, they say that he was under considerable stress at home. (Pdf, p.8). Dr. Ivins was well aware of his issues and at every point seems to have done his best to get medical care for them. He was the opposite of a person that is so unaware of their own situation that they act out all over other people at any cost.

Oh, and FBI had potential witnesses sign non-disclosure statements while they smear Ivins in the press.

Meanwhile, the AP has launched the idea that skeptics are "conspiracy theorists" and "anti-semites".

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/20...



Bruce Ivins may have been guilty as sin but his guilt has not been established and it's not in our interest to allow him to simply be scapegoated in this careless, highhanded manner. That's my story and I'm stickin' with it.