1 00:00:02,169 --> 00:00:04,046 [suspenseful music] 2 00:00:04,046 --> 00:00:07,257 - Tonight, in the shadow of 9/11, 3 00:00:07,257 --> 00:00:10,052 a new kind of terror strikes at the heart of America. 4 00:00:10,052 --> 00:00:13,222 - This is the first death by Anthrax in the United States 5 00:00:13,222 --> 00:00:14,681 in more than 25 years. 6 00:00:14,681 --> 00:00:17,059 - This silent killer is out there. 7 00:00:17,059 --> 00:00:18,977 You could just simply open up your mailbox, 8 00:00:18,977 --> 00:00:20,687 and that could just kill you. 9 00:00:20,687 --> 00:00:23,732 - Every day, it seems as if more and more people 10 00:00:23,732 --> 00:00:24,983 are getting sick. 11 00:00:26,026 --> 00:00:28,487 - Panic spreads around the country as the poisoned letters 12 00:00:28,487 --> 00:00:29,988 keep coming. 13 00:00:30,113 --> 00:00:32,824 - This can spread very rapidly and it's very dangerous. 14 00:00:32,824 --> 00:00:35,202 You could be looking at thousands of victims. 15 00:00:35,202 --> 00:00:37,704 - Random people seem to be getting sick and dying. 16 00:00:37,704 --> 00:00:40,290 Fear and terror is really at a high. 17 00:00:40,290 --> 00:00:44,169 - The killer has access to military bioweapons labs. 18 00:00:44,169 --> 00:00:45,546 Perhaps something has gone on 19 00:00:45,546 --> 00:00:47,714 that the government doesn't want us to know. 20 00:00:47,714 --> 00:00:50,175 - Now, we investigate the top theories 21 00:00:50,175 --> 00:00:53,220 surrounding the deadly act of bioterrorism 22 00:00:53,220 --> 00:00:54,846 that shocked the nation. 23 00:00:54,846 --> 00:00:59,810 Just who was responsible for the anthrax attacks of 2001? 24 00:01:00,811 --> 00:01:03,021 [dramatic music] 25 00:01:14,491 --> 00:01:17,619 - [Laurence] October 2nd, 2001, just a few weeks 26 00:01:17,619 --> 00:01:21,873 after the 9/11 attacks, 63-year-old Robert Stevens, 27 00:01:21,873 --> 00:01:25,627 a photo editor for the "National Enquirer" tabloid, 28 00:01:25,627 --> 00:01:28,964 stumbles into the ER with flu-like symptoms. 29 00:01:29,965 --> 00:01:31,383 - Robert Stevens is showing symptoms 30 00:01:31,383 --> 00:01:35,012 including high fever, vomiting, and disorientation. 31 00:01:35,012 --> 00:01:37,806 And the hospital admits him with a diagnosis 32 00:01:37,806 --> 00:01:40,225 of bacterial meningitis, which is 33 00:01:40,225 --> 00:01:42,644 swelling of the tissue around the brain. 34 00:01:42,644 --> 00:01:44,438 After he's admitted, within five hours, 35 00:01:44,438 --> 00:01:47,316 he starts having seizures and he slips into a coma. 36 00:01:47,316 --> 00:01:50,110 - Very quickly, multiple organs start failing 37 00:01:50,110 --> 00:01:51,653 inside of his body, 38 00:01:51,653 --> 00:01:53,739 and they recognize that they're in a race against time 39 00:01:53,739 --> 00:01:55,741 to determine what's making this man ill. 40 00:01:55,741 --> 00:01:57,451 When they take a spinal tap 41 00:01:57,451 --> 00:02:00,037 and subject it to microscopic analysis, 42 00:02:00,037 --> 00:02:01,788 they have a a real shock. 43 00:02:01,788 --> 00:02:03,040 They're surprised to discover 44 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,292 that it's not bacterial meningitis. 45 00:02:05,292 --> 00:02:07,711 This man has been infected with anthrax. 46 00:02:09,670 --> 00:02:12,799 - Anthrax disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis 47 00:02:12,799 --> 00:02:15,344 and it's usually transferred cutaneously, 48 00:02:15,344 --> 00:02:16,720 so through the skin. 49 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:19,014 Another type of way to get it is through ingestion 50 00:02:19,014 --> 00:02:22,392 or the type of anthrax that Stevens has, inhalation. 51 00:02:22,392 --> 00:02:25,228 And with inhalatial anthrax, about a hundred percent chance 52 00:02:25,228 --> 00:02:27,689 that you're gonna die without treatment. 53 00:02:27,689 --> 00:02:29,107 You don't get symptoms right away. 54 00:02:29,232 --> 00:02:31,401 So it takes a while for those symptoms to show up 55 00:02:31,401 --> 00:02:34,279 and by that time, sometimes people don't even respond 56 00:02:34,279 --> 00:02:35,906 to antibiotics. 57 00:02:35,906 --> 00:02:39,993 Then, your body just starts to really fail very quickly. 58 00:02:39,993 --> 00:02:42,913 - Stevens fails to respond to antibiotics 59 00:02:42,913 --> 00:02:46,541 and the infection continues to ravage his body, 60 00:02:46,541 --> 00:02:49,836 causing sepsis, and ultimately organ failure. 61 00:02:49,836 --> 00:02:52,506 - [Laurence] Stevens dies on October 5th, 62 00:02:52,506 --> 00:02:55,592 four days after checking into the hospital. 63 00:02:55,592 --> 00:03:00,555 The first anthrax fatality in the US in more than 25 years. 64 00:03:01,973 --> 00:03:05,268 - When Stevens dies from his anthrax infection, 65 00:03:05,268 --> 00:03:08,939 basically a panic ensues, because they're not certain 66 00:03:08,939 --> 00:03:12,067 where he could have possibly come into contact with anthrax. 67 00:03:12,067 --> 00:03:15,320 This can spread very rapidly and it's very dangerous. 68 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,699 And if you have a massive outbreak, its self-propagates. 69 00:03:18,699 --> 00:03:21,159 You could be looking at thousands of victims. 70 00:03:21,159 --> 00:03:24,496 - This is 2001, and it's less than a month 71 00:03:24,496 --> 00:03:28,291 after the 9/11 attacks, so people are a bit on edge. 72 00:03:28,291 --> 00:03:29,668 The Center for Disease Control, 73 00:03:29,668 --> 00:03:31,503 even the FBI has gotten involved 74 00:03:31,503 --> 00:03:35,632 'cause anthrax is a very, very scary and virulent condition. 75 00:03:35,632 --> 00:03:37,217 - What's also tricky with anthrax 76 00:03:37,217 --> 00:03:38,885 is that it can take up to seven days 77 00:03:38,885 --> 00:03:41,263 for anybody to exhibit symptoms. 78 00:03:41,263 --> 00:03:44,057 Investigators go everywhere Stevens had been 79 00:03:44,057 --> 00:03:47,811 in the last week, including his offices at American Media, 80 00:03:47,811 --> 00:03:50,105 which owns the "National Enquirer". 81 00:03:50,105 --> 00:03:52,691 - They start doing a pretty intensive search 82 00:03:52,691 --> 00:03:54,359 for the anthrax bacteria. 83 00:03:54,359 --> 00:03:57,154 One place that pops up is on Robert Steven's keyboard. 84 00:03:57,154 --> 00:04:00,323 They also find it in a mail room employee. 85 00:04:00,323 --> 00:04:01,908 He's showing some symptoms. 86 00:04:01,908 --> 00:04:03,285 So, they have those two cases. 87 00:04:03,285 --> 00:04:07,372 And after that, they shut down the AMI offices. 88 00:04:07,372 --> 00:04:10,500 - [Brandy] If you're going into a space that has random spores 89 00:04:10,500 --> 00:04:13,086 of anthrax just in the atmosphere, 90 00:04:13,086 --> 00:04:16,505 that means hazmat suits, that means ventilators, 91 00:04:16,505 --> 00:04:18,841 that means people in big masks in. 92 00:04:18,841 --> 00:04:21,678 It looks like a science fiction movie. 93 00:04:21,678 --> 00:04:23,305 It's very, very scary. 94 00:04:23,305 --> 00:04:26,808 And now, you can't keep this under wraps anymore. 95 00:04:26,808 --> 00:04:28,310 You've got additional people infected. 96 00:04:28,310 --> 00:04:31,104 It's clearly not an isolated event. 97 00:04:31,104 --> 00:04:32,272 - [Laurence] For the authorities, 98 00:04:32,272 --> 00:04:34,983 there's only one logical explanation. 99 00:04:34,983 --> 00:04:38,904 This has to be an act of bioterrorism. 100 00:04:38,904 --> 00:04:41,531 - [Paul] After World War I, there was a recognition 101 00:04:41,531 --> 00:04:44,659 that chemical warfare was unacceptable, 102 00:04:44,659 --> 00:04:48,330 but they did not necessarily extend to biological weapons. 103 00:04:48,330 --> 00:04:51,958 In the post-World War II era, both the United States 104 00:04:51,958 --> 00:04:55,462 and the Soviet Union produce substantial stockpiles 105 00:04:55,462 --> 00:04:59,174 of bioweapons to include weaponized anthrax. 106 00:04:59,174 --> 00:05:01,802 - [Eric] Anthrax, for a long time, has been thought of 107 00:05:01,802 --> 00:05:04,554 as a potentially potent biological weapon. 108 00:05:04,554 --> 00:05:07,182 It's indestructible, and that can be made into forms 109 00:05:07,182 --> 00:05:09,643 that are very hard to detect and very small. 110 00:05:09,643 --> 00:05:12,395 - [Paul] Ostensibly, biological weapons are outlawed 111 00:05:12,395 --> 00:05:14,481 by the Biological Weapons Convention, 112 00:05:14,481 --> 00:05:17,776 but they are allowed to produce stockpiles 113 00:05:17,776 --> 00:05:20,570 for the purpose of research and the production of things 114 00:05:20,570 --> 00:05:23,990 like vaccines, inoculations, and treatments. 115 00:05:23,990 --> 00:05:27,619 - The FBI tries to head off growing panic by insisting 116 00:05:27,619 --> 00:05:30,664 that they're treating this as an isolated case. 117 00:05:30,664 --> 00:05:33,542 But behind the scenes, there's definitely growing concern 118 00:05:33,542 --> 00:05:36,211 that this might be part of a much broader attack. 119 00:05:37,254 --> 00:05:38,797 - [Laurence] On October 12th, 120 00:05:38,797 --> 00:05:43,385 just four days later, the FBI's fears are realized. 121 00:05:43,385 --> 00:05:46,263 An employee from "NBC News" in New York 122 00:05:46,263 --> 00:05:49,474 has also been exposed to anthrax. 123 00:05:49,474 --> 00:05:52,352 - Casey Chamberlain, who works for Tom Brokaw, 124 00:05:52,352 --> 00:05:54,187 opens his mail. 125 00:05:54,187 --> 00:05:57,816 She'd received a letter, and it was very upsetting. 126 00:05:57,816 --> 00:06:00,193 It had a childish hand scrawl, 127 00:06:00,193 --> 00:06:03,363 and it said "Death to America. 128 00:06:03,363 --> 00:06:04,531 Death to Israel. 129 00:06:04,531 --> 00:06:06,032 Allah is great," in it. 130 00:06:06,032 --> 00:06:09,703 And in addition, it seemed to have this strange, 131 00:06:09,703 --> 00:06:12,706 powdery, sandy-like substance in the envelope. 132 00:06:12,706 --> 00:06:15,458 She starts having flu-like symptoms. 133 00:06:15,458 --> 00:06:18,378 It doesn't take long for it to become apparent, 134 00:06:18,378 --> 00:06:20,755 she too has come down with anthrax. 135 00:06:20,755 --> 00:06:23,091 - [Reporter] The news raced across the city's ticker tape. 136 00:06:23,091 --> 00:06:24,968 The mayor tried to reassure the population 137 00:06:24,968 --> 00:06:27,095 this was just an isolated case. 138 00:06:27,095 --> 00:06:30,390 - It is likely that this issue 139 00:06:30,390 --> 00:06:33,560 all began way back on September 25th. 140 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,855 So, one piece of good news 141 00:06:36,855 --> 00:06:39,149 is that if anyone else was gonna be infected, 142 00:06:39,149 --> 00:06:40,483 it would've happened by now. 143 00:06:41,526 --> 00:06:42,777 - [Kavitha] Over the next few days, 144 00:06:42,777 --> 00:06:45,322 seven additional anthrax cases are reported 145 00:06:45,322 --> 00:06:47,824 at news organizations around New York, 146 00:06:47,824 --> 00:06:52,078 including at NBC, ABC, CBS, and the New York Post. 147 00:06:52,078 --> 00:06:55,206 And less than a month after 9/11, 148 00:06:55,206 --> 00:06:57,626 everybody in New York is on edge. 149 00:06:57,626 --> 00:07:00,378 - [Eric] We've been hearing since September 11th, 150 00:07:00,378 --> 00:07:04,549 the enemy of America, who has shown a spectacular ability 151 00:07:04,549 --> 00:07:07,135 to attack America, is Al-Qaeda. 152 00:07:07,135 --> 00:07:09,304 So when a biological attack begins 153 00:07:09,304 --> 00:07:11,973 so soon after September 11th, makes sense 154 00:07:11,973 --> 00:07:14,267 that Al-Qaeda would be the first place you'd look. 155 00:07:14,267 --> 00:07:16,478 [tense music] 156 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,315 - [Laurence] On October 15th, 157 00:07:20,315 --> 00:07:23,068 fears of a coordinated terrorist attack 158 00:07:23,068 --> 00:07:25,945 are seemingly confirmed when anthrax 159 00:07:25,945 --> 00:07:28,865 reaches the heart of the federal government. 160 00:07:28,865 --> 00:07:33,244 - Grant Leslie, an intern for Senator Tom Daschle, 161 00:07:33,244 --> 00:07:35,205 opens up his mail, 162 00:07:35,205 --> 00:07:36,790 and she sees an envelope 163 00:07:36,790 --> 00:07:39,250 that's addressed to Senator Tom Daschle. 164 00:07:39,250 --> 00:07:42,337 The return address is 4th Grade, Greendale School. 165 00:07:42,337 --> 00:07:44,714 So she thinks by the block lettering 166 00:07:44,714 --> 00:07:48,760 that this is a nice letter from some school children. 167 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:50,178 She opens it up 168 00:07:50,178 --> 00:07:52,764 and a white powder comes out of the envelope. 169 00:07:52,764 --> 00:07:55,642 - The letter that is received is hand scrawled. 170 00:07:55,642 --> 00:07:57,977 It's almost childish in the way it looks 171 00:07:57,977 --> 00:08:00,897 and the message is similar too, but it's longer this time. 172 00:08:00,897 --> 00:08:02,565 - [Matthew] It reads, "9-11-01. 173 00:08:02,565 --> 00:08:04,067 You can't stop us. 174 00:08:04,067 --> 00:08:05,944 We have this anthrax. 175 00:08:05,944 --> 00:08:07,112 You die now. 176 00:08:07,112 --> 00:08:09,322 Are you afraid? Death to America. 177 00:08:09,322 --> 00:08:11,991 Death to Israel. Allah is great." 178 00:08:11,991 --> 00:08:14,911 Investigators come, they quarantine the office 179 00:08:14,911 --> 00:08:16,538 and they find another letter. 180 00:08:16,538 --> 00:08:19,249 This letter was addressed to Senator Patrick Leahy. 181 00:08:19,249 --> 00:08:21,668 That letter also contained anthrax. 182 00:08:21,668 --> 00:08:23,670 So, they close down the Capitol. 183 00:08:23,670 --> 00:08:27,465 They treat all of the staffers there with antibiotics 184 00:08:27,465 --> 00:08:29,843 and they find about another 30 infections 185 00:08:29,843 --> 00:08:31,678 due to inhalation anthrax. 186 00:08:33,096 --> 00:08:36,349 - People are terrified, because they can't see anthrax. 187 00:08:36,349 --> 00:08:37,642 They have no mechanism to 188 00:08:37,642 --> 00:08:39,686 protect themselves against anthrax 189 00:08:39,686 --> 00:08:42,355 and now, you have three discreet attacks 190 00:08:42,355 --> 00:08:45,191 that are very obviously an ongoing campaign 191 00:08:45,191 --> 00:08:46,943 and it's got the public in a panic. 192 00:08:46,943 --> 00:08:48,653 The vast majority of the population 193 00:08:48,653 --> 00:08:51,740 has leapt to the expectation that this is Al-Qaeda 194 00:08:51,740 --> 00:08:55,410 carrying out the next stage in a terror campaign. 195 00:08:55,410 --> 00:08:57,996 - The narrative was already in place 196 00:08:57,996 --> 00:09:01,207 that this was more likely another Al-Qaeda 197 00:09:01,207 --> 00:09:03,334 terrorist attack on the United States 198 00:09:03,334 --> 00:09:06,755 and so, people tried to start putting pieces together. 199 00:09:06,755 --> 00:09:10,925 - [Eric] The ringleader of the 9/11 attacks, Mohamed Atta, 200 00:09:10,925 --> 00:09:13,303 had been in South Florida, 201 00:09:13,303 --> 00:09:16,014 not far from that AMI office, 202 00:09:16,014 --> 00:09:19,809 learning to fly aircraft near an airfield, 203 00:09:19,809 --> 00:09:21,478 where they had a crop duster 204 00:09:21,478 --> 00:09:24,022 and he was asking a lot of questions about the crop duster. 205 00:09:24,022 --> 00:09:25,815 It seems to some people 206 00:09:25,815 --> 00:09:28,777 like there was certainly a lot of smoke there, if not fire. 207 00:09:28,777 --> 00:09:30,779 - [Ali] That, of course, heightens the fear, 208 00:09:30,779 --> 00:09:33,073 because the crop duster with anthrax 209 00:09:33,073 --> 00:09:36,284 could put millions of spores across a large city 210 00:09:36,284 --> 00:09:37,744 and kill millions of people. 211 00:09:38,787 --> 00:09:40,830 - [Laurence] Despite this public concern, 212 00:09:40,830 --> 00:09:44,000 investigators can't find a clear link to Al-Qaeda. 213 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,879 The question is, who else is a suspect? 214 00:09:47,879 --> 00:09:49,589 - So the one unifying factor 215 00:09:49,589 --> 00:09:52,133 between the attacks at the Capitol, the attacks on media 216 00:09:52,133 --> 00:09:54,177 is that these are all being sent through the mail 217 00:09:54,177 --> 00:09:57,138 at a large facility that actually sorts the mail 218 00:09:57,138 --> 00:10:00,141 for the Capitol, two postal workers end up dying. 219 00:10:00,141 --> 00:10:02,018 More people are infected. 220 00:10:02,018 --> 00:10:04,437 Lots of people have been exposed. 221 00:10:04,437 --> 00:10:07,732 - So, the FBI immediately goes to the postal facilities 222 00:10:07,732 --> 00:10:10,902 and starts backtracking where the mail was sent from 223 00:10:10,902 --> 00:10:12,862 and they start checking the cameras. 224 00:10:12,862 --> 00:10:16,157 They do multiple searches across dozens of sites 225 00:10:16,157 --> 00:10:17,784 and nothing to show for it. 226 00:10:17,784 --> 00:10:20,703 And so, the FBI really doesn't have a clue who's behind it. 227 00:10:25,834 --> 00:10:28,336 - By late October, 2001, nearly 20 people 228 00:10:28,336 --> 00:10:30,296 have contracted anthrax infections 229 00:10:30,296 --> 00:10:33,508 and three have died, with hundreds more being treated 230 00:10:33,508 --> 00:10:35,301 for exposure. 231 00:10:35,301 --> 00:10:37,679 Still, investigators have no idea 232 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:40,932 who's been sending the deadly spores through the mail. 233 00:10:42,058 --> 00:10:44,811 - As this investigation continues to expand, 234 00:10:44,811 --> 00:10:48,356 the United States government sets up an anthrax task force 235 00:10:48,356 --> 00:10:51,067 and they're going to pull in multiple agencies, 236 00:10:51,067 --> 00:10:53,820 all of whom have overlapping responsibilities 237 00:10:53,820 --> 00:10:57,031 to try to bring all of the resources together 238 00:10:57,031 --> 00:10:59,033 to stop these attacks. 239 00:10:59,033 --> 00:11:01,452 - The first wave of letters sent to the news agencies 240 00:11:01,452 --> 00:11:06,040 in New York all have a Trenton, New Jersey postmark address 241 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:07,500 and were all sent on the same date. 242 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:10,086 September 18th, 2001. 243 00:11:10,086 --> 00:11:13,089 - The letter to Tom Brokaw has no return address. 244 00:11:13,089 --> 00:11:15,925 It's just addressed to Tom Brokaw, NBC News. 245 00:11:15,925 --> 00:11:19,095 The letter to Tom Daschle does have a return address. 246 00:11:19,095 --> 00:11:21,222 Return address is the Greendale School 247 00:11:21,222 --> 00:11:22,932 in Franklin, New Jersey. 248 00:11:22,932 --> 00:11:24,976 There is no Greendale School in Franklin, New Jersey. 249 00:11:24,976 --> 00:11:26,895 It's a fake return address. 250 00:11:26,895 --> 00:11:29,272 - It becomes apparent that all of these letters 251 00:11:29,272 --> 00:11:31,816 have been photocopied on a photocopy machine, 252 00:11:31,816 --> 00:11:33,818 and then cut to slightly different sizes 253 00:11:33,818 --> 00:11:35,028 before they're sent. 254 00:11:36,237 --> 00:11:38,323 The other commonality between the two sets of letters 255 00:11:38,323 --> 00:11:41,242 is they can't find any fingerprints, no DNA. 256 00:11:41,242 --> 00:11:43,411 Whoever is doing these letters 257 00:11:43,411 --> 00:11:46,915 actually understands how not to get caught. 258 00:11:46,915 --> 00:11:48,458 What's most concerning 259 00:11:48,458 --> 00:11:50,752 has to do with the anthrax spores themselves. 260 00:11:50,752 --> 00:11:53,421 - [Kavitha] The airborne anthrax spores sent to the Senate, 261 00:11:53,421 --> 00:11:56,758 which sickened many and killed two postal workers, 262 00:11:56,758 --> 00:11:59,761 is found to be even more refined and potent 263 00:11:59,761 --> 00:12:02,388 than the spores sent to the news organizations. 264 00:12:02,388 --> 00:12:04,641 - [Paul] As they dig deeper, they determine 265 00:12:04,641 --> 00:12:06,809 that this is weapons-grade anthrax, 266 00:12:06,809 --> 00:12:09,270 which means by definition, it almost certainly 267 00:12:09,270 --> 00:12:11,397 came from a bioweapons lab, 268 00:12:11,397 --> 00:12:13,900 possessed by a major nation state, 269 00:12:13,900 --> 00:12:16,819 but the one we're more focused on is Iraq. 270 00:12:21,241 --> 00:12:24,118 - [Kavitha] Starting around 1985, Saddam Hussein begins 271 00:12:24,118 --> 00:12:27,038 to develop massive biological weapons, 272 00:12:27,038 --> 00:12:28,831 including anthrax. 273 00:12:28,831 --> 00:12:32,335 - During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, 274 00:12:32,335 --> 00:12:36,464 Iraq had deliberately subjected Iranian POWs 275 00:12:36,464 --> 00:12:38,466 to chemical and biological weapons. 276 00:12:38,466 --> 00:12:41,386 - One story is that prisoners of war were tied to beds 277 00:12:41,386 --> 00:12:43,471 inside of a room that was sealed up, 278 00:12:43,471 --> 00:12:45,640 and then they released anthrax into this room. 279 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:47,475 And through an observation window, 280 00:12:47,475 --> 00:12:50,353 scientists and military personnel 281 00:12:50,353 --> 00:12:53,147 observed their horrific deaths. 282 00:12:53,147 --> 00:12:55,942 - [Paul] After 1991, the Iraqis were expected 283 00:12:55,942 --> 00:12:58,695 by the armistice negotiations 284 00:12:58,695 --> 00:13:00,989 to destroy all of their stockpiles 285 00:13:00,989 --> 00:13:02,991 of biological and chemical weapons, 286 00:13:02,991 --> 00:13:06,869 as well as end any nuclear weapons ambitions. 287 00:13:06,869 --> 00:13:09,205 But the Iraqis played a lot of games. 288 00:13:09,205 --> 00:13:11,958 They tried to hide at least some of their materials 289 00:13:11,958 --> 00:13:13,668 from weapons inspectors. 290 00:13:13,668 --> 00:13:15,295 While the Iraqis publicly claimed 291 00:13:15,295 --> 00:13:18,298 that they had destroyed the stockpiles, privately, 292 00:13:18,298 --> 00:13:20,591 it's clear that they were holding things back. 293 00:13:20,591 --> 00:13:23,469 - [Kavitha] Saddam Hussein has also been threatening revenge 294 00:13:23,469 --> 00:13:27,515 against the US after his defeat in the First Gulf War. 295 00:13:27,515 --> 00:13:29,726 In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, 296 00:13:29,726 --> 00:13:31,519 the US starts to point to Iraq 297 00:13:31,519 --> 00:13:35,565 as a possible partner with Al-Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks 298 00:13:35,565 --> 00:13:38,192 and any ensuing terror attacks against the country. 299 00:13:39,235 --> 00:13:41,362 - [Laurence] When scientists test the anthrax used 300 00:13:41,362 --> 00:13:44,615 on Capitol Hill, some say they uncover the proof 301 00:13:44,615 --> 00:13:46,117 of an Iraqi connection. 302 00:13:47,452 --> 00:13:49,704 - And in late October, we get this bombshell report 303 00:13:49,704 --> 00:13:53,416 from "ABC News," that the anthrax 304 00:13:53,416 --> 00:13:56,794 contained another material called bentonite 305 00:13:56,794 --> 00:13:59,005 and it was made to weaponize anthrax 306 00:13:59,005 --> 00:14:01,507 and make it easier to disperse and more lethal. 307 00:14:01,507 --> 00:14:04,927 The intelligence said that bentonite 308 00:14:04,927 --> 00:14:08,097 was only used for the production of anthrax 309 00:14:08,097 --> 00:14:09,891 by one country in the world, 310 00:14:09,891 --> 00:14:11,517 and that country was Iraq. 311 00:14:12,727 --> 00:14:14,228 - [Laurence] On October 31st, 312 00:14:14,228 --> 00:14:16,022 two days after the news report 313 00:14:16,022 --> 00:14:19,108 tying the anthrax attacks to Iraq, 314 00:14:19,108 --> 00:14:21,819 there's another fatality. 315 00:14:21,819 --> 00:14:23,988 - So far, all of these have been targeted attacks, 316 00:14:23,988 --> 00:14:26,574 the media, the financial institutions, 317 00:14:26,574 --> 00:14:29,911 but then we have a 61-year-old stock clerk in the Bronx 318 00:14:29,911 --> 00:14:32,830 who comes down with anthrax and she dies. 319 00:14:32,830 --> 00:14:35,208 - [Reporter] 61-year-old Kathy Nguyen of the Bronx 320 00:14:35,208 --> 00:14:37,460 died of the inhaled form of anthrax. 321 00:14:37,460 --> 00:14:39,712 So far, officials have not been able to trace 322 00:14:39,712 --> 00:14:41,339 how she got it. 323 00:14:41,339 --> 00:14:44,967 - [Eric] She hasn't been to the offices of NBC News, recently. 324 00:14:44,967 --> 00:14:47,345 She hasn't been to the offices of the "New York Post." 325 00:14:47,345 --> 00:14:50,014 She hasn't been sorting mail. 326 00:14:50,014 --> 00:14:52,558 So, how did she get this? 327 00:14:52,558 --> 00:14:56,145 It raises this possibility that anthrax 328 00:14:56,145 --> 00:14:59,649 is being dispersed in a way that could infect 329 00:14:59,649 --> 00:15:03,528 anybody, anywhere, which is very scary. 330 00:15:03,528 --> 00:15:04,904 - [Matthew] A couple of weeks later, 331 00:15:04,904 --> 00:15:07,740 94-year-old Ottilie Lundgren from Connecticut 332 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:10,576 also contracts inhalation anthrax and dies. 333 00:15:10,576 --> 00:15:13,746 Now, this is a person that was basically home bound. 334 00:15:13,746 --> 00:15:15,289 She did not leave her home very often. 335 00:15:15,289 --> 00:15:16,833 She did not work for the media, 336 00:15:16,833 --> 00:15:18,417 did not work for the government. 337 00:15:18,417 --> 00:15:21,712 This is another innocent person that has no connection 338 00:15:21,712 --> 00:15:25,508 to be a typical target for this attack, but another death. 339 00:15:25,508 --> 00:15:28,678 Again, just showing how this killer is out there 340 00:15:28,678 --> 00:15:31,139 and that you could just simply open up your mailbox 341 00:15:31,139 --> 00:15:32,557 and that will just kill you. 342 00:15:34,058 --> 00:15:37,103 - [Paul] This is a stark reminder that this is a spore 343 00:15:37,103 --> 00:15:38,688 that has been upgraded 344 00:15:38,688 --> 00:15:41,774 from its naturally occurring, very dangerous state 345 00:15:41,774 --> 00:15:44,068 to make it possible for it to propagate 346 00:15:44,068 --> 00:15:45,987 as widely as possible. 347 00:15:45,987 --> 00:15:48,447 It's essentially an uncontrollable weapon. 348 00:15:48,447 --> 00:15:52,160 Once you release it on the public, it could go anywhere 349 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,453 and this absolutely terrifies people. 350 00:15:54,453 --> 00:15:57,665 And if there's a connection to an external actor, 351 00:15:57,665 --> 00:16:00,293 like Iraq, that might be supporting 352 00:16:00,293 --> 00:16:03,713 the world's largest and deadliest terror organization, 353 00:16:03,713 --> 00:16:06,007 panic is about to ensue. 354 00:16:06,007 --> 00:16:07,758 - [Laurence] Reports then emerge 355 00:16:07,758 --> 00:16:11,470 of a top secret Al-Qaeda and Iraqi intelligence meeting 356 00:16:11,470 --> 00:16:16,434 in Prague, which if true would have explosive consequences. 357 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:19,061 - [Eric] There's one intelligence report 358 00:16:19,061 --> 00:16:22,523 that the ringleader of the 9/11 attacks, Mohamed Atta, 359 00:16:22,523 --> 00:16:25,860 met with a member of the Iraqi intelligence 360 00:16:25,860 --> 00:16:27,653 in a meeting in Prague. 361 00:16:27,653 --> 00:16:30,656 - [Kavitha] The report backs up a growing suspicion of a link 362 00:16:30,656 --> 00:16:33,326 between Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. 363 00:16:33,326 --> 00:16:35,453 So when the anthrax attacks happen, 364 00:16:35,453 --> 00:16:37,872 it's not a stretch to think that we're in the midst 365 00:16:37,872 --> 00:16:41,209 of another targeted, coordinated attack, 366 00:16:41,209 --> 00:16:44,545 with Al-Qaeda and Iraq working together. 367 00:16:44,545 --> 00:16:47,590 - [Paul] Vice President Dick Cheney publicly confirms 368 00:16:47,590 --> 00:16:50,801 that Mohamed Atta had met with an Iraqi agent 369 00:16:50,801 --> 00:16:53,095 during a national media appearance. 370 00:16:54,388 --> 00:16:55,723 - [Laurence] Despite Cheney's suspicions, 371 00:16:55,723 --> 00:16:59,518 no Iraqi link to Al-Qaeda is ever proven. 372 00:16:59,518 --> 00:17:02,104 Scientists also begin to back off their claim 373 00:17:02,104 --> 00:17:05,775 that there was bentonite, an Iraqi bioweapons signature, 374 00:17:05,775 --> 00:17:08,778 found in any of the anthrax letters. 375 00:17:08,778 --> 00:17:10,946 - [Brandy] Despite the fact that it seems 376 00:17:10,946 --> 00:17:12,615 like these two things are connected, 377 00:17:12,615 --> 00:17:14,407 no link ever really emerges. 378 00:17:14,407 --> 00:17:17,662 There's never proof that Al-Qaeda is working with Iraq 379 00:17:17,662 --> 00:17:19,247 or with Saddam Hussein. 380 00:17:19,247 --> 00:17:22,750 So ultimately, we're back to square one, not really knowing 381 00:17:22,750 --> 00:17:25,836 where the attacks are coming from or who is targeting us. 382 00:17:31,842 --> 00:17:33,344 - [Laurence] In late October, 2001, 383 00:17:33,344 --> 00:17:36,305 the anthrax investigation turns in a new direction. 384 00:17:36,305 --> 00:17:39,934 The FBI reveals that the spores used in the attacks 385 00:17:39,934 --> 00:17:41,561 came from a strain of bacteria 386 00:17:41,561 --> 00:17:44,480 developed in US military labs. 387 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,608 It's known as the Ames strain. 388 00:17:48,818 --> 00:17:51,028 - [Kavitha] The Ames strain was originally isolated 389 00:17:51,028 --> 00:17:53,864 from an infected cow back in the 1980s 390 00:17:53,864 --> 00:17:56,242 and it was taken and used by the military 391 00:17:56,242 --> 00:17:58,911 to try and develop an anthrax vaccine. 392 00:18:00,454 --> 00:18:02,039 - [Laurence] Even after identifying the strain, 393 00:18:02,039 --> 00:18:04,000 investigators are no closer 394 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,252 to finding out who's been sending it. 395 00:18:07,336 --> 00:18:10,006 - There's not really a way to narrow down 396 00:18:10,006 --> 00:18:12,091 exactly where the source must have been, 397 00:18:12,091 --> 00:18:14,802 because it is still distributed into multiple facilities. 398 00:18:14,802 --> 00:18:17,888 And so, the next attack could be around the corner 399 00:18:17,888 --> 00:18:19,515 and you're still not sure 400 00:18:19,515 --> 00:18:21,434 where the original source material was 401 00:18:21,434 --> 00:18:24,270 or how much of it was available to the attacker. 402 00:18:24,270 --> 00:18:28,733 - [David] The strain was kept and used for research purposes 403 00:18:28,733 --> 00:18:30,860 in 15 labs across the United States 404 00:18:30,860 --> 00:18:32,737 and three labs internationally. 405 00:18:32,737 --> 00:18:34,697 So, that was the initial focus 406 00:18:34,697 --> 00:18:37,408 was to try to determine who in those labs 407 00:18:37,408 --> 00:18:40,244 might have had the the means and the motive 408 00:18:40,244 --> 00:18:43,748 to weaponize the spores for the anthrax attacks. 409 00:18:45,291 --> 00:18:47,168 - [Kavitha] Meanwhile, Americans continue to brace 410 00:18:47,168 --> 00:18:50,504 for another possible attack from Osama bin Laden 411 00:18:50,504 --> 00:18:51,505 and Al-Qaeda. 412 00:18:51,505 --> 00:18:53,341 With the public already on edge 413 00:18:53,341 --> 00:18:55,885 about an external terrorism attack, 414 00:18:55,885 --> 00:19:00,389 the FBI is wary of making the public even more jittery 415 00:19:00,389 --> 00:19:03,059 about potential homegrown terrorism, 416 00:19:03,059 --> 00:19:05,186 so they continue their investigation 417 00:19:05,186 --> 00:19:06,646 in complete secrecy. 418 00:19:07,938 --> 00:19:10,274 - [Laurence] As the weeks pass with no news, 419 00:19:10,274 --> 00:19:12,068 frustration grows, 420 00:19:12,068 --> 00:19:14,695 especially within the scientific community. 421 00:19:14,695 --> 00:19:16,739 - [Paul] For the scientists, they're horrified 422 00:19:16,739 --> 00:19:20,034 that something they might have had a hand in producing 423 00:19:20,034 --> 00:19:22,787 is being used to target and kill Americans, 424 00:19:22,787 --> 00:19:26,290 but the FBI seems to be becoming more suspicious 425 00:19:26,290 --> 00:19:28,459 and even adversarial towards them 426 00:19:28,459 --> 00:19:31,295 as they the leadership of the investigation 427 00:19:31,295 --> 00:19:32,672 becomes more convinced 428 00:19:32,672 --> 00:19:34,840 that this was probably a domestic attack. 429 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,885 [suspenseful music] 430 00:19:40,888 --> 00:19:44,141 - [Kavitha] In February, 2002, Barbara Hatch Rosenberg, 431 00:19:44,141 --> 00:19:45,601 who is the chairwoman 432 00:19:45,601 --> 00:19:48,062 of the Federation of American Scientists 433 00:19:48,062 --> 00:19:50,106 and somebody who's been a staunch 434 00:19:50,106 --> 00:19:52,400 anti-bioweapons crusader, 435 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,193 she publishes a blog post called 436 00:19:54,193 --> 00:19:56,529 "Is the FBI 'dragging its feet.'" 437 00:19:56,529 --> 00:19:58,906 And she says that based on her conversations 438 00:19:58,906 --> 00:20:01,283 with scientists, she believes that the attacks 439 00:20:01,283 --> 00:20:05,663 are the result of a military-led bioweapons project 440 00:20:05,663 --> 00:20:07,039 that's gone awry. 441 00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:09,625 She claims that for months, the FBI has known 442 00:20:09,625 --> 00:20:11,836 that the perpetrator of the anthrax attacks 443 00:20:11,836 --> 00:20:13,421 is actually an American. 444 00:20:13,421 --> 00:20:16,006 - [Ali] For the scientists investigating 445 00:20:16,006 --> 00:20:18,300 this outbreak or attack on Americans, 446 00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:21,178 they went from assisting with the investigation 447 00:20:21,178 --> 00:20:25,641 to potentially being suspects of the investigation. 448 00:20:25,641 --> 00:20:28,144 Then, you had no idea that all of this information 449 00:20:28,144 --> 00:20:30,730 that you were being given by these various scientists, 450 00:20:30,730 --> 00:20:32,398 if one of them was the culprit, 451 00:20:32,398 --> 00:20:35,067 you may have gotten inaccurate information. 452 00:20:35,067 --> 00:20:37,027 So, it completely changes the whole dynamic 453 00:20:37,027 --> 00:20:39,613 of the investigation all of a sudden. 454 00:20:39,613 --> 00:20:40,948 - [Brandy] Rosenberg suggests 455 00:20:40,948 --> 00:20:43,200 that the person who has done this, 456 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,536 the person who is behind these attacks 457 00:20:45,536 --> 00:20:49,832 was probably preparing the anthrax in the summer of 2001. 458 00:20:49,832 --> 00:20:51,751 Then 9/11 happens in September 459 00:20:51,751 --> 00:20:53,836 and offers the perfect cover. 460 00:20:53,836 --> 00:20:56,714 That instead of Al-Qaeda being behind this, 461 00:20:56,714 --> 00:20:59,842 the killer is actually blaming Al-Qaeda 462 00:20:59,842 --> 00:21:03,053 to hide their own nefarious activity. 463 00:21:03,053 --> 00:21:06,015 - [Paul] There are certainly some that argue that handwritten 464 00:21:06,015 --> 00:21:08,225 notes with basic grammatical errors 465 00:21:08,225 --> 00:21:10,895 are not the hallmark of an Al-Qaeda communication, 466 00:21:10,895 --> 00:21:15,316 but in the American mindset it played towards a stereotype. 467 00:21:15,316 --> 00:21:17,651 If these attacks were carried out by an American, 468 00:21:17,651 --> 00:21:20,446 that individual was using the anthrax letters 469 00:21:20,446 --> 00:21:22,448 to throw off suspicion. 470 00:21:22,448 --> 00:21:24,408 - [Brandy] Rosenberg isn't alone in feeling 471 00:21:24,408 --> 00:21:27,661 that something is amiss here in the FBI's investigation. 472 00:21:27,661 --> 00:21:30,664 Other scientists claim that for one thing, 473 00:21:30,664 --> 00:21:34,627 a single lone rogue worker wouldn't be able to create 474 00:21:34,627 --> 00:21:37,421 the kind of spores that we see in the attacks. 475 00:21:37,421 --> 00:21:39,089 She also suggests that the FBI 476 00:21:39,089 --> 00:21:41,675 must know that the killer has access 477 00:21:41,675 --> 00:21:44,345 to military bioweapons labs 478 00:21:44,345 --> 00:21:46,722 and in these bioweapons labs, 479 00:21:46,722 --> 00:21:48,682 perhaps something has gone on that the government 480 00:21:48,682 --> 00:21:50,768 doesn't want us to know. 481 00:21:50,768 --> 00:21:52,144 - [Laurence] The assertion is tied 482 00:21:52,144 --> 00:21:54,438 to an international bioweapons ban 483 00:21:54,438 --> 00:21:57,316 that the US signed in 1972. 484 00:21:58,901 --> 00:22:00,486 - [Kavitha] There are suspicions that despite signing this 485 00:22:00,694 --> 00:22:04,073 treaty, the United States never actually dismantled this program 486 00:22:04,073 --> 00:22:05,324 and that they've continued 487 00:22:05,324 --> 00:22:07,493 to develop military grade bioweapons, 488 00:22:07,493 --> 00:22:09,787 including anthrax for years. 489 00:22:09,787 --> 00:22:11,455 - [Paul] If the US was caught in violation 490 00:22:11,455 --> 00:22:13,833 of something like the Biological Weapons Convention, 491 00:22:13,833 --> 00:22:16,585 certainly the US would lose some of its moral authority 492 00:22:16,585 --> 00:22:18,045 in the international sphere. 493 00:22:18,045 --> 00:22:21,048 It would certainly make us look like hypocrites. 494 00:22:21,048 --> 00:22:23,008 - [Brandy] Rosenberg's most shocking claim 495 00:22:23,008 --> 00:22:25,678 is that the government is afraid to arrest 496 00:22:25,678 --> 00:22:28,889 the person involved, because it will show 497 00:22:28,889 --> 00:22:32,101 that the problem is linked to bioweapons labs, 498 00:22:32,101 --> 00:22:34,186 potentially to activity that the government 499 00:22:34,186 --> 00:22:35,187 isn't supposed to be doing 500 00:22:35,187 --> 00:22:36,856 and that they're doing in secret, 501 00:22:36,856 --> 00:22:40,442 and that as a result, they're looking the other way. 502 00:22:40,442 --> 00:22:42,027 - [Paul] There's an enormous amount of political 503 00:22:42,027 --> 00:22:45,531 and public pressure on the FBI to get results. 504 00:22:45,531 --> 00:22:46,949 The public is starting to wonder 505 00:22:46,949 --> 00:22:49,994 if maybe the FBI is the wrong organization 506 00:22:49,994 --> 00:22:52,371 for this type of investigation. 507 00:22:52,371 --> 00:22:54,957 - [Kavitha] The FBI vehemently denies dragging its feet 508 00:22:54,957 --> 00:22:57,501 in order to prevent a national security scandal. 509 00:22:57,501 --> 00:23:00,170 The FBI now turns its investigation 510 00:23:00,170 --> 00:23:01,964 to homegrown terrorists. 511 00:23:01,964 --> 00:23:05,092 They start focusing on suspects with scientific backgrounds 512 00:23:05,092 --> 00:23:07,845 and access to the deadly pathogen 513 00:23:07,845 --> 00:23:12,016 with ties to military infectious disease labs. 514 00:23:16,478 --> 00:23:17,354 - [Laurence] More than nine months 515 00:23:17,646 --> 00:23:19,523 since the anthrax terror attacks began, 516 00:23:19,523 --> 00:23:22,526 there's seemingly little progress in the case 517 00:23:22,526 --> 00:23:25,779 and the FBI is under enormous pressure 518 00:23:25,779 --> 00:23:27,907 to catch the perpetrator. 519 00:23:27,907 --> 00:23:31,243 The FBI interviews hundreds of scientists 520 00:23:31,243 --> 00:23:33,996 working in the field, pulls together their list 521 00:23:33,996 --> 00:23:37,541 of potential suspects, and in June of 2002, 522 00:23:37,541 --> 00:23:39,001 they close in on their man. 523 00:23:41,045 --> 00:23:43,505 - [Brandy] Steven Hatfill has a lot of the credentials. 524 00:23:43,505 --> 00:23:46,425 He is somebody who works in microbiology. 525 00:23:46,425 --> 00:23:49,136 He is a scientist and has connections 526 00:23:49,136 --> 00:23:51,764 to an army research lab on infectious diseases 527 00:23:51,764 --> 00:23:54,433 at Fort Detrick in Maryland 528 00:23:54,433 --> 00:23:55,643 - [Kavitha] Under FBI questioning, 529 00:23:55,643 --> 00:23:57,937 Hatfill denies having any involvement 530 00:23:57,937 --> 00:24:00,105 or knowledge in the anthrax attacks 531 00:24:00,105 --> 00:24:01,649 and even agrees to take a polygraph, 532 00:24:01,649 --> 00:24:04,068 which he reportedly passes. 533 00:24:04,068 --> 00:24:06,195 - [Paul] The FBI knows full well that polygraphs 534 00:24:06,195 --> 00:24:09,657 are not legally admissible and they're not infallible 535 00:24:09,657 --> 00:24:12,868 and so they continue to dig deeper into Hatfill's life. 536 00:24:12,868 --> 00:24:14,703 So that they can go into Hatfill's home 537 00:24:14,703 --> 00:24:18,374 and look for any evidence of any anthrax spores 538 00:24:18,374 --> 00:24:20,584 or anything else that might implicate him in the attacks. 539 00:24:20,584 --> 00:24:23,921 However, the FBI or at least someone within it 540 00:24:23,921 --> 00:24:27,007 tipped off the press as to what they were doing. 541 00:24:27,007 --> 00:24:28,842 An enormous media circus follows. 542 00:24:28,842 --> 00:24:32,346 Hatfill's home is under constant observation by media 543 00:24:32,346 --> 00:24:34,390 and Hatfill himself cannot set foot 544 00:24:34,390 --> 00:24:36,767 outside without being constantly harassed. 545 00:24:36,767 --> 00:24:39,311 - [Brandy] As more information comes out about his background 546 00:24:39,311 --> 00:24:42,314 in bioweapons, the public also becomes convinced 547 00:24:42,314 --> 00:24:43,399 that he's guilty. 548 00:24:43,399 --> 00:24:44,692 This is long before any trial. 549 00:24:44,692 --> 00:24:46,151 He is not even been arrested yet, 550 00:24:46,151 --> 00:24:48,779 but there's this sense that he must be the right guy. 551 00:24:48,779 --> 00:24:51,824 [suspenseful music] 552 00:24:53,701 --> 00:24:56,996 - [Paul] The bureau seems to be developing almost tunnel vision. 553 00:24:56,996 --> 00:24:59,039 They think they found the right person 554 00:24:59,039 --> 00:25:00,708 and they're going to follow it up 555 00:25:00,708 --> 00:25:04,003 until they prove that he's the responsible actor. 556 00:25:04,003 --> 00:25:05,212 - [Laurence] As agents 557 00:25:05,212 --> 00:25:07,047 comb through Hatfill's background, 558 00:25:07,047 --> 00:25:11,218 they uncover even more troubling connections to the case. 559 00:25:11,218 --> 00:25:13,137 - [Eric] There's another weird coincidence 560 00:25:13,137 --> 00:25:14,346 with Stephen Hatfill. 561 00:25:14,346 --> 00:25:16,807 The return addresses to the Tom Daschle 562 00:25:16,807 --> 00:25:19,059 and Patrick Leahy letters were from a place 563 00:25:19,059 --> 00:25:22,187 called the Greendale School in Franklin, New Jersey. 564 00:25:22,187 --> 00:25:23,772 Well, it turns out where Steven Hatfill 565 00:25:23,772 --> 00:25:26,150 went to medical school in Zimbabwe, 566 00:25:26,150 --> 00:25:30,863 there was a town right next to that place called Greendale. 567 00:25:32,031 --> 00:25:33,699 - [Kavitha] In the late '90s, Hatfill gets a job 568 00:25:33,699 --> 00:25:38,704 working for a large defense contractor with ties to the CIA, 569 00:25:39,038 --> 00:25:42,124 but when he applies for a high level security clearance, 570 00:25:42,124 --> 00:25:44,626 he reportedly fails his polygraph test. 571 00:25:44,626 --> 00:25:46,920 This all happened in the summer of 2001, 572 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,631 about a month before the first of the Anthrax letters 573 00:25:49,631 --> 00:25:50,591 is mailed. 574 00:25:50,591 --> 00:25:52,259 - [Brandy] A few years earlier, 575 00:25:52,259 --> 00:25:56,013 Hatfill had been working on a contract about biodefense 576 00:25:56,013 --> 00:25:57,723 and he commissions a study. 577 00:25:57,723 --> 00:26:01,518 And this study was what would we do in the situation 578 00:26:01,518 --> 00:26:06,356 where the US was being attacked by Anthrax through the mail. 579 00:26:06,356 --> 00:26:08,901 He even figures out exactly how much anthrax 580 00:26:08,901 --> 00:26:11,487 would have to be in each letter to be lethal. 581 00:26:11,487 --> 00:26:13,113 - [Laurence] Investigators believe 582 00:26:13,113 --> 00:26:18,160 this could have served as a dry run for the 2001 attacks. 583 00:26:19,286 --> 00:26:21,080 They soon find even more suspicious material. 584 00:26:22,247 --> 00:26:24,458 - On Dr. Hatfill's computer in his home, 585 00:26:24,458 --> 00:26:27,336 when they execute the warrant, they find a novel 586 00:26:27,336 --> 00:26:31,006 that he had written three years before the Anthrax letters 587 00:26:31,006 --> 00:26:33,675 and it's about a rogue scientist 588 00:26:33,675 --> 00:26:38,430 that unleashes a biological attack on Washington, D.C. 589 00:26:38,430 --> 00:26:41,016 - [Paul] Another piece of interesting circumstantial 590 00:26:41,016 --> 00:26:43,936 evidence is that Hatfill had actually been taking Cipro, 591 00:26:43,936 --> 00:26:45,896 the very antibiotic that's used 592 00:26:45,896 --> 00:26:49,525 to treat anthrax infections a couple of weeks prior 593 00:26:49,525 --> 00:26:51,360 to the first launch of the attacks. 594 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:52,986 - [Laurence] Although the case 595 00:26:52,986 --> 00:26:54,780 against Hatfill seems solid, 596 00:26:54,780 --> 00:26:58,492 he continues to insist he's innocent. 597 00:26:58,492 --> 00:27:01,036 - I am not the anthrax killer. 598 00:27:02,162 --> 00:27:05,124 I know nothing about the anthrax attacks. 599 00:27:05,124 --> 00:27:08,710 I had absolutely nothing to do with this terrible crime. 600 00:27:08,710 --> 00:27:10,254 - [Matthew] Investigators connecting these dots. 601 00:27:10,254 --> 00:27:11,547 He wrote this book. 602 00:27:11,547 --> 00:27:14,216 He wrote the blueprint to the anthrax letter. 603 00:27:14,216 --> 00:27:17,344 He's taking Cipro, the actual drug that you would take 604 00:27:17,344 --> 00:27:19,513 if you came in contact with anthrax. 605 00:27:19,513 --> 00:27:23,308 It's not hard for them to believe that. 606 00:27:23,308 --> 00:27:25,185 I mean, this has gotta be the guy, right? 607 00:27:25,185 --> 00:27:28,063 - [Kavitha] Despite all the circumstantial evidence against 608 00:27:28,063 --> 00:27:30,482 Hatfill, there's still not enough to arrest him, 609 00:27:30,482 --> 00:27:32,818 but that doesn't stop FBI investigators 610 00:27:32,818 --> 00:27:36,530 from continuing to look into him and surveil his home. 611 00:27:36,530 --> 00:27:38,073 - [Brandy] There are people following him everywhere he 612 00:27:38,073 --> 00:27:41,118 goes, following him so closely that in fact, 613 00:27:41,118 --> 00:27:45,372 in one instance, they run over his foot in a car. 614 00:27:45,372 --> 00:27:48,041 Try as they might to connect the dots, they can't. 615 00:27:48,041 --> 00:27:50,210 There just isn't any direct line 616 00:27:50,210 --> 00:27:53,881 between the events of the anthrax attack and Hatfill. 617 00:27:53,881 --> 00:27:55,215 They can't make it stick. 618 00:27:56,383 --> 00:27:57,801 - [Eric] So the investigation against Hatfill 619 00:27:57,801 --> 00:27:59,469 basically goes nowhere. 620 00:27:59,469 --> 00:28:03,807 In 2003, Hatfill sues the federal government, 621 00:28:03,807 --> 00:28:05,267 "The New York Times," 622 00:28:05,392 --> 00:28:08,604 and he eventually wins the lawsuit against the government 623 00:28:08,604 --> 00:28:11,815 and they settle with him for about $6 million. 624 00:28:11,815 --> 00:28:14,443 By the mid 2000s, this investigation, 625 00:28:14,443 --> 00:28:16,570 they've had 9,000 interviews. 626 00:28:16,570 --> 00:28:18,488 They've had 6,000 subpoenas. 627 00:28:18,488 --> 00:28:20,616 They've done 67 searches, 628 00:28:20,616 --> 00:28:22,576 and they have come up with nothing. 629 00:28:28,457 --> 00:28:29,917 - [Laurence] Five years after the anthrax attack, 630 00:28:29,917 --> 00:28:32,210 the FBI regroups. 631 00:28:32,210 --> 00:28:34,546 The new agent heading the investigation 632 00:28:34,546 --> 00:28:36,506 orders task force members 633 00:28:36,506 --> 00:28:40,677 to review the case files for overlooked leads. 634 00:28:40,677 --> 00:28:43,055 - The FBI never gives up on the investigation 635 00:28:43,055 --> 00:28:44,973 and they are still following up 636 00:28:44,973 --> 00:28:46,516 at the various bioweapons labs. 637 00:28:46,516 --> 00:28:49,144 In particular, they're looking at Fort Detrick, 638 00:28:49,144 --> 00:28:51,730 partially because its geographic location 639 00:28:51,730 --> 00:28:53,482 puts it relatively close 640 00:28:53,482 --> 00:28:55,734 to where the letters have been mailed. 641 00:28:55,734 --> 00:28:56,985 - [David] One of the first things they do 642 00:28:56,985 --> 00:28:59,529 is seize additional samples. 643 00:28:59,529 --> 00:29:02,741 They wind up seizing a flask 644 00:29:02,741 --> 00:29:07,496 of very synthesized, purified anthrax 645 00:29:07,496 --> 00:29:09,790 labeled RMR 1029. 646 00:29:09,790 --> 00:29:13,210 That's happens to be in the sole possession 647 00:29:13,210 --> 00:29:14,962 of Dr. Bruce Ivins. 648 00:29:14,962 --> 00:29:17,255 - [Brandy] Bruce Ivins had been working with the FBI 649 00:29:17,255 --> 00:29:18,840 all throughout the investigation. 650 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,385 He had supplied them with samples. 651 00:29:21,385 --> 00:29:24,596 He trained them to recognize anthrax spores. 652 00:29:24,596 --> 00:29:27,557 At the same time, he too had access 653 00:29:27,557 --> 00:29:30,227 to the kinds of materials that you would need, 654 00:29:30,227 --> 00:29:32,729 access to labs, and for the first time, 655 00:29:32,729 --> 00:29:37,734 the FBI starts to zero in and question his own motivations. 656 00:29:37,734 --> 00:29:40,737 [suspenseful music] 657 00:29:41,905 --> 00:29:44,408 - [David] Bruce Ivins is a senior microbiologist, 658 00:29:44,408 --> 00:29:47,119 who has worked at Fort Detrick for 27 years. 659 00:29:47,119 --> 00:29:50,330 20 of those years working with anthrax. 660 00:29:50,330 --> 00:29:52,791 He is Dr. Anthrax. 661 00:29:52,791 --> 00:29:54,835 - [Kavitha] He's one of the leading anthrax researchers 662 00:29:54,835 --> 00:29:57,004 in the United States and after 9/11, 663 00:29:57,004 --> 00:29:59,256 he's put under enormous pressure 664 00:29:59,256 --> 00:30:01,717 to develop an anthrax vaccine for troops. 665 00:30:01,717 --> 00:30:03,885 Just after the anthrax letters are postmarked, 666 00:30:03,885 --> 00:30:06,138 he sends a letter to a friend 667 00:30:06,138 --> 00:30:10,434 saying that bin Laden definitely has access to anthrax 668 00:30:10,434 --> 00:30:13,854 and that he just decreed death to all Jews and Americans. 669 00:30:15,188 --> 00:30:17,733 - [Paul] Many believe that he's really trying to draw attention 670 00:30:17,733 --> 00:30:19,151 to the potential danger 671 00:30:19,151 --> 00:30:21,945 associated with a widespread biological attack. 672 00:30:21,945 --> 00:30:24,614 - [David] The argument is that he did this 673 00:30:24,614 --> 00:30:27,492 to justify his own continued research. 674 00:30:27,492 --> 00:30:32,289 That there had not been any anthrax attacks prior to this, 675 00:30:32,289 --> 00:30:34,458 and so 9/11 gives him the perfect backdrop 676 00:30:34,458 --> 00:30:37,377 to demonstrate the need for a vaccine 677 00:30:37,377 --> 00:30:40,714 and the continued funding to continue to research 678 00:30:40,714 --> 00:30:42,466 a viable vaccine. 679 00:30:42,466 --> 00:30:45,844 And that according to the FBI is what prompted him 680 00:30:45,844 --> 00:30:47,721 to carry out these attacks. 681 00:30:47,721 --> 00:30:49,181 - [Paul] If Ivins is responsible 682 00:30:49,181 --> 00:30:50,849 for carrying out these anthrax attacks, 683 00:30:50,849 --> 00:30:53,810 he did a pretty good job of covering his tracks. 684 00:30:53,810 --> 00:30:56,855 The FBI doesn't have hard evidence linking him 685 00:30:56,855 --> 00:30:59,232 to the attacks yet and really doesn't have a clue 686 00:30:59,232 --> 00:31:00,859 who's behind it. 687 00:31:00,859 --> 00:31:04,029 - [Laurence] Then a major scientific discovery 688 00:31:04,029 --> 00:31:06,698 leads to a potential break in the case. 689 00:31:07,866 --> 00:31:10,869 - [Brandy] In 2007, breakthroughs in genetic testing 690 00:31:10,869 --> 00:31:14,498 allow them to reanalyze the spores. 691 00:31:14,498 --> 00:31:17,501 And this means they can trace the anthrax 692 00:31:17,501 --> 00:31:20,420 back to its original batch. 693 00:31:20,420 --> 00:31:21,755 - [Paul] They start analyzing 694 00:31:21,755 --> 00:31:24,216 a thousand or more different samples 695 00:31:24,216 --> 00:31:26,593 of the Ames strain from all the different places 696 00:31:26,593 --> 00:31:28,512 that it's held and they discover 697 00:31:28,512 --> 00:31:32,265 that there are unique markers in the specific spores 698 00:31:32,265 --> 00:31:33,642 that were used in the attacks. 699 00:31:33,642 --> 00:31:35,227 They're actually able to backtrack it 700 00:31:35,227 --> 00:31:38,480 to one very specific batch of anthrax 701 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:42,359 that had been cultured and stockpiled at Fort Detrick. 702 00:31:42,359 --> 00:31:43,652 - [Laurence] For the FBI, 703 00:31:43,652 --> 00:31:46,196 the discovery is a game changer. 704 00:31:46,196 --> 00:31:48,782 What had once been the subject of a global hunt 705 00:31:48,782 --> 00:31:52,994 now sits inside one flask on a lab desk. 706 00:31:52,994 --> 00:31:54,621 - [Kavitha] There are around a hundred scientists 707 00:31:54,621 --> 00:31:59,376 with access to the flask of anthrax that's labeled RMR 1029, 708 00:31:59,376 --> 00:32:02,462 but the FBI turns its attention to the man at the top, 709 00:32:02,462 --> 00:32:06,174 the sole person who has had sole possession of the flask 710 00:32:06,174 --> 00:32:07,509 since the very beginning 711 00:32:07,509 --> 00:32:10,428 and that's none other than Dr. Bruce Ivins. 712 00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:14,850 - [Ali] There was numerous reasons to suspect Dr. Bruce 713 00:32:14,850 --> 00:32:19,604 Ivins besides the fact that the Ames strain was his repository. 714 00:32:19,604 --> 00:32:22,107 For example, right before the time 715 00:32:22,107 --> 00:32:24,526 when the two batches of letters would've gone out, 716 00:32:24,526 --> 00:32:26,862 he had late nights and weekends of work 717 00:32:26,862 --> 00:32:29,948 that were unexplained, which was absolutely atypical 718 00:32:29,948 --> 00:32:31,783 of anything he's ever done in the past. 719 00:32:31,783 --> 00:32:33,827 He also tested his own laboratory 720 00:32:33,827 --> 00:32:35,203 without authorization, 721 00:32:35,328 --> 00:32:37,372 and then sterilized everything without telling people 722 00:32:37,372 --> 00:32:38,874 what he was doing. 723 00:32:38,874 --> 00:32:40,750 There was a lot of suspicious behavior on his part 724 00:32:40,750 --> 00:32:42,669 that he himself couldn't explain 725 00:32:42,669 --> 00:32:45,881 that suggested that he was a likely perpetrator. 726 00:32:45,881 --> 00:32:47,424 - [Paul] When the FBI questioned him 727 00:32:47,424 --> 00:32:49,634 about his changed behavioral patterns, 728 00:32:49,634 --> 00:32:52,470 Ivins claimed that he was having marital troubles at home 729 00:32:52,470 --> 00:32:55,473 and he was essentially throwing himself into his work, 730 00:32:55,473 --> 00:32:58,643 but the FBI wasn't buying that story. 731 00:32:58,643 --> 00:33:02,480 On November 1st, 2007, they executed a search warrant 732 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:04,357 for Bruce Ivins' home. 733 00:33:04,357 --> 00:33:06,193 When they got inside, they discovered 734 00:33:06,193 --> 00:33:08,945 that there was evidence of a lot of the materials 735 00:33:08,945 --> 00:33:10,447 that would've been associated 736 00:33:10,447 --> 00:33:13,116 with carrying out these types of attacks. 737 00:33:13,116 --> 00:33:14,784 - [Brandy] It's also found out that Ivins 738 00:33:14,784 --> 00:33:17,996 had a history of mental health challenges, 739 00:33:17,996 --> 00:33:21,166 but what's most damning for him is an email he sends 740 00:33:21,166 --> 00:33:23,210 to his friends and colleagues. 741 00:33:23,210 --> 00:33:26,504 In his emails, he seems to be suffering from delusions 742 00:33:26,504 --> 00:33:29,299 and in addition, he states that he's afraid, 743 00:33:29,299 --> 00:33:32,052 he will not be able to control his own behavior. 744 00:33:33,261 --> 00:33:34,512 - [Laurence] But Ivins 745 00:33:34,512 --> 00:33:37,307 continues to stay a step ahead of the FBI 746 00:33:37,307 --> 00:33:41,269 until he's tripped up by an old act of deception. 747 00:33:41,269 --> 00:33:43,021 - [Brandy] In the original investigation, 748 00:33:43,021 --> 00:33:46,149 the FBI asked for samples from all of the different labs 749 00:33:46,149 --> 00:33:49,027 that had military grade anthrax. 750 00:33:49,027 --> 00:33:51,780 And the sample that Bruce Ivins had sent in 751 00:33:51,780 --> 00:33:53,156 had been declared clear 752 00:33:53,156 --> 00:33:55,450 from the strain they were looking for. 753 00:33:55,450 --> 00:33:58,745 Around the same time, Bruce had sent core samples 754 00:33:58,745 --> 00:34:00,914 to colleagues for safekeeping. 755 00:34:00,914 --> 00:34:03,625 Now upon going back, the FBI would discover 756 00:34:03,625 --> 00:34:05,460 these samples did test positive 757 00:34:05,460 --> 00:34:08,129 for the strains that were used in the attacks. 758 00:34:08,129 --> 00:34:11,841 - [David] The FBI contended that he had submitted false samples. 759 00:34:11,841 --> 00:34:15,971 So in July of 2008, he's informed by the FBI 760 00:34:15,971 --> 00:34:18,306 that he is about to be indicted 761 00:34:18,306 --> 00:34:21,268 by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of murder. 762 00:34:21,268 --> 00:34:22,726 He goes home. 763 00:34:22,726 --> 00:34:26,481 He takes a fatal dose of acetaminophen with codeine 764 00:34:26,481 --> 00:34:28,315 and three days later, dies. 765 00:34:29,818 --> 00:34:31,319 - [Laurence] After seven years 766 00:34:31,319 --> 00:34:34,322 with more than 600 investigators on the job 767 00:34:34,322 --> 00:34:37,367 at a cost of nearly $100 million, 768 00:34:37,367 --> 00:34:41,329 the FBI believes the case is finally solved. 769 00:34:42,789 --> 00:34:46,376 - [Paul] On August 6th, 2008 in the aftermath of Ivins' suicide, 770 00:34:46,376 --> 00:34:48,460 the Department of Justice announces 771 00:34:48,460 --> 00:34:51,255 that they hold him singularly responsible 772 00:34:51,255 --> 00:34:54,217 for the anthrax terror attacks of 2001. 773 00:34:54,217 --> 00:34:55,677 As far as the Department of Justice 774 00:34:55,677 --> 00:34:58,638 and the FBI are concerned, the case has been closed 775 00:34:58,638 --> 00:35:00,390 and because Ivins is dead, 776 00:35:00,390 --> 00:35:02,559 there's no further requirement for action. 777 00:35:04,060 --> 00:35:05,562 - [Laurence] Despite the government's insistence 778 00:35:05,562 --> 00:35:07,564 many remain unconvinced. 779 00:35:09,566 --> 00:35:12,277 - [David] There are some critics of the investigation, 780 00:35:12,277 --> 00:35:14,654 including some scientists who contend 781 00:35:14,654 --> 00:35:19,075 that if the FBI fingered the wrong man in Steven Hatfill, 782 00:35:19,075 --> 00:35:21,786 they also fingered the wrong man in Bruce Ivins. 783 00:35:21,786 --> 00:35:26,750 That Ivins was incapable of carrying out these crimes. 784 00:35:27,584 --> 00:35:28,793 It does leave open the door 785 00:35:28,793 --> 00:35:30,879 in the minds of some people anyway 786 00:35:30,879 --> 00:35:34,257 that the real killer may never have been brought to justice. 787 00:35:39,179 --> 00:35:40,472 - [Laurence] Despite the FBI's certainty 788 00:35:40,472 --> 00:35:43,433 that Bruce Ivins is guilty of the anthrax attacks, 789 00:35:43,433 --> 00:35:46,019 many believe the case remains unsolved. 790 00:35:47,354 --> 00:35:50,357 - The FBI is convinced and they close the investigation. 791 00:35:50,357 --> 00:35:54,152 But in the months and years that follow, more gaps and holes 792 00:35:54,152 --> 00:35:56,321 and questions remain. 793 00:35:56,321 --> 00:36:00,158 One of the problems is exactly how you get the anthrax 794 00:36:00,158 --> 00:36:02,035 to the very refined spores 795 00:36:02,035 --> 00:36:04,120 that were sent in the anthrax attack letters. 796 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:05,872 Other scientists believe 797 00:36:05,872 --> 00:36:08,416 that he didn't have the equipment necessary 798 00:36:08,416 --> 00:36:10,919 to actually make that process happen, 799 00:36:10,919 --> 00:36:13,213 at least not in the quantities 800 00:36:13,213 --> 00:36:14,964 and certainly not in the refinement 801 00:36:14,964 --> 00:36:18,218 that we see in the spores that were used in the attacks. 802 00:36:18,218 --> 00:36:21,805 - [Paul] According to the former deputy director at Fort Detrick, 803 00:36:21,805 --> 00:36:24,224 the spores that were used in the anthrax attacks 804 00:36:24,224 --> 00:36:25,975 were actually substantially smaller 805 00:36:25,975 --> 00:36:28,144 than anything that had ever been produced 806 00:36:28,144 --> 00:36:31,523 in a US or Russian bioweapons program. 807 00:36:31,523 --> 00:36:33,400 - What's even stranger is the FBI 808 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:37,445 was never able to find any trace of spores on the equipment 809 00:36:37,445 --> 00:36:40,740 Ivins was accused of using to develop the bioweapon. 810 00:36:40,740 --> 00:36:43,451 - [Brandy] Really, the most incriminating piece of evidence 811 00:36:43,451 --> 00:36:45,662 the FBI was able to use against Ivins 812 00:36:45,662 --> 00:36:47,664 was that he was in the vicinity of the flask 813 00:36:47,664 --> 00:36:49,332 and that he had access to it, 814 00:36:49,332 --> 00:36:52,502 but of course we already knew that other people had access. 815 00:36:52,502 --> 00:36:54,504 - There will always be debate 816 00:36:54,504 --> 00:36:56,464 about the efficacy of the science 817 00:36:56,464 --> 00:36:58,758 that was associated with this investigation 818 00:36:58,758 --> 00:37:00,802 and it does leave the door open 819 00:37:00,802 --> 00:37:05,557 as to whether the real killer was ever caught. 820 00:37:05,557 --> 00:37:08,643 [suspenseful music] 821 00:37:10,311 --> 00:37:12,021 - [Matthew] There is no direct physical evidence 822 00:37:12,021 --> 00:37:13,898 to convict Bruce Ivins in this case. 823 00:37:13,898 --> 00:37:15,400 Everything is circumstantial 824 00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:17,777 and traditional forensics on this 825 00:37:17,777 --> 00:37:19,237 come up with a big fat zero. 826 00:37:19,237 --> 00:37:20,947 So no fingerprints, no DNA. 827 00:37:20,947 --> 00:37:23,783 They do handwriting analysis of the envelopes 828 00:37:23,783 --> 00:37:26,077 to known exemplars from his own writing 829 00:37:26,077 --> 00:37:27,078 and they're not a match there. 830 00:37:27,078 --> 00:37:28,872 There's no conclusive evidence 831 00:37:28,872 --> 00:37:30,874 saying that he wrote these letters. 832 00:37:30,874 --> 00:37:33,084 - [Paul] Handwriting analysis is not perfect 833 00:37:33,084 --> 00:37:36,004 and so for the FBI, it's not really a surprise 834 00:37:36,004 --> 00:37:38,256 that the handwriting on the letters 835 00:37:38,256 --> 00:37:40,175 that accompanied the anthrax attacks 836 00:37:40,175 --> 00:37:42,677 could never be perfectly tied to Bruce Ivins. 837 00:37:42,677 --> 00:37:44,679 But for people looking to poke holes in the case, 838 00:37:44,679 --> 00:37:46,347 that's yet another example 839 00:37:46,347 --> 00:37:49,309 of this not being the perfect investigation. 840 00:37:49,309 --> 00:37:51,561 - [Brandy] Of course, the FBI was under enormous pressure. 841 00:37:51,561 --> 00:37:53,646 A lot of time had gone by, 842 00:37:53,646 --> 00:37:57,233 and there was a real desire to close the case. 843 00:37:57,233 --> 00:37:58,610 That might mean pressure 844 00:37:58,610 --> 00:38:01,571 to sweep inconsistencies under the rug. 845 00:38:02,614 --> 00:38:04,616 - [Matthew] Friends and colleagues to Dr. Ivins 846 00:38:04,616 --> 00:38:07,494 state that it's the pressure from the FBI 847 00:38:07,494 --> 00:38:10,121 that caused him to commit suicide, 848 00:38:10,121 --> 00:38:12,123 not the guilt of committing this act. 849 00:38:12,123 --> 00:38:14,501 And in just like Dr. Steven Hatfill, 850 00:38:14,501 --> 00:38:16,586 many believe that if this went to court, 851 00:38:16,586 --> 00:38:19,923 Dr. Ivins also would be exonerated of this. 852 00:38:19,923 --> 00:38:20,965 - [Laurence] Through the years, 853 00:38:20,965 --> 00:38:22,759 several notable organizations 854 00:38:22,759 --> 00:38:26,429 have also challenged the FBI's conclusions. 855 00:38:26,429 --> 00:38:29,015 - [Kavitha] In 2011, the National Academy of Sciences 856 00:38:29,015 --> 00:38:31,267 determines that the scientific evidence alone 857 00:38:31,267 --> 00:38:35,063 was not enough to link the flask from Ivins' lab 858 00:38:35,063 --> 00:38:37,690 to the anthrax used in the attacks. 859 00:38:37,690 --> 00:38:40,902 - [Paul] The FBI's entire physical case around Bruce Ivins 860 00:38:40,902 --> 00:38:42,612 revolves around the idea 861 00:38:42,612 --> 00:38:46,157 that a single flask of anthrax spores was the murder weapon. 862 00:38:46,157 --> 00:38:48,535 If for some reason that was an error, 863 00:38:48,535 --> 00:38:50,370 then the entire case falls apart. 864 00:38:50,370 --> 00:38:54,040 - [Brandy] In 2014, a government body that was nonpartisan 865 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,627 also releases its report saying that the actual science 866 00:38:57,627 --> 00:39:00,672 performed by the FBI was insufficient 867 00:39:00,672 --> 00:39:03,174 and in fact, that genetic signature 868 00:39:03,174 --> 00:39:05,385 might not have been that unique. 869 00:39:05,385 --> 00:39:07,011 - [Kavitha] Perhaps most suspicious of all, 870 00:39:07,011 --> 00:39:09,389 there's no way to go back into the evidence 871 00:39:09,389 --> 00:39:11,850 with new eyes and new technology, 872 00:39:11,850 --> 00:39:14,018 because the FBI destroyed everything, 873 00:39:14,018 --> 00:39:15,562 including the spores, 874 00:39:15,562 --> 00:39:18,690 when they officially closed the case back in 2010. 875 00:39:18,690 --> 00:39:20,817 - [Eric] This is an investigation that's covered so 876 00:39:20,817 --> 00:39:22,193 much ground. 877 00:39:22,193 --> 00:39:24,112 It's been one of the most expensive investigations 878 00:39:24,112 --> 00:39:25,947 in the history of the FBI. 879 00:39:25,947 --> 00:39:27,824 They've interviewed 10,000 people. 880 00:39:27,824 --> 00:39:30,743 They've issued 6,000 grand jury subpoenas. 881 00:39:30,743 --> 00:39:32,161 And at the end, it has this conclusion 882 00:39:32,161 --> 00:39:35,623 that to most people isn't very satisfying. 883 00:39:35,623 --> 00:39:37,041 It's not just that there's some questions. 884 00:39:37,041 --> 00:39:38,918 There are a lot of questions. 885 00:39:38,918 --> 00:39:40,628 - [Paul] The constant speculation 886 00:39:40,628 --> 00:39:43,464 and second guessing of the FBI investigation 887 00:39:43,464 --> 00:39:46,926 definitely provides no comfort to the victim's families. 888 00:39:46,926 --> 00:39:48,845 The idea that someone might have died 889 00:39:48,845 --> 00:39:51,723 just for opening their mail is a terrifying concept 890 00:39:51,723 --> 00:39:55,143 and we want to believe that our law enforcement agencies 891 00:39:55,143 --> 00:39:57,562 are capable of solving this type of case. 892 00:39:57,562 --> 00:39:59,814 And so to have somebody constantly questioning it 893 00:39:59,814 --> 00:40:01,441 on the basis of a belief 894 00:40:01,441 --> 00:40:03,526 that the FBI is not good at their job 895 00:40:03,526 --> 00:40:06,696 can be very frustrating to a lot of those victims' families. 896 00:40:06,696 --> 00:40:08,364 - [Brandy] For many people, there's a great desire 897 00:40:08,364 --> 00:40:10,450 to accept the FBI's conclusions. 898 00:40:10,450 --> 00:40:13,161 For one thing, it means that they got their man 899 00:40:13,161 --> 00:40:16,831 and we can stop worrying about any future attacks. 900 00:40:16,831 --> 00:40:19,751 It's comforting, but it might not be the truth. 901 00:40:19,751 --> 00:40:22,003 And if you don't accept those conclusions, 902 00:40:22,003 --> 00:40:24,923 it means that it's possible that the anthrax killer 903 00:40:24,923 --> 00:40:26,299 is still at large. 904 00:40:26,299 --> 00:40:28,927 [suspenseful music] 905 00:40:28,927 --> 00:40:32,055 - We may never definitively know if Bruce Ivins 906 00:40:32,055 --> 00:40:35,934 was the man responsible for making weaponized anthrax 907 00:40:35,934 --> 00:40:38,311 and sending the lethal letters. 908 00:40:38,311 --> 00:40:40,647 His case was never brought to trial. 909 00:40:40,647 --> 00:40:42,732 And while some have called on the FBI 910 00:40:42,732 --> 00:40:47,362 to reopen the investigation, for now it remains closed, 911 00:40:47,362 --> 00:40:50,281 leaving one of the deadliest bio-terrorism events 912 00:40:50,281 --> 00:40:53,785 on US soil forever cloaked in mystery. 913 00:40:53,785 --> 00:40:55,662 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 914 00:40:55,662 --> 00:40:56,371 Thank you for watching "History's Greatest Mysteries."