- 7. Simultaneous investigative initiatives
With a relatively large complement of 30 agents and inspectors from the FBI and USPIS, the Task Force never faced a significant shortage of resources that would force investigators to focus on one subject to the exclusion of all others. Even while Dr. Hatfill was a subject of the investigation, Task Force investigators continued to pursue scientific leads that ultimately led to Dr. Hatfill’s exoneration. Investigators also continued to examine other researchers that surfaced under the four investigatory criteria: access, knowledge, experience, and motivation. For example, while investigators were executing search warrants at the home of Dr. Hatfill in August 2002, and pursuing other investigative leads relating to other persons of investigative interest, the FBI and USPIS were also devoting considerable resources to several other important investigative initiatives in an attempt to identify the anthrax mailer:
* Profit Motive Initiative: Task Force agents analyzed interviews, obtained business records, and examined publicly available corporate information, such as Securities and Exchange Commission filings, to identify any business that may have been motivated to commit the anthrax attacks for financial gain. Investigators looked at companies that had received the benefits of increased publicity or heightened demand for their products or services as a result of the anthrax mailings, and then examined decisions made by management as a result of the event.
* Anthrax vaccine production: At the time of the anthrax mailings in 2001, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Michigan was the sole provider of anthrax vaccine to the U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”). The company’s vaccine was the only anthrax vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for human use in the United States. In the aftermath of the 2001 anthrax mailings, the FDA granted this company long-sought approval to continue production of its vaccine, which had previously been suspended for the company’s violation of Good Manufacturing Practices. This approval positioned the company to reap substantial profits from the increased demand for its vaccine generated by the anthrax attacks. Accordingly, the FBI investigated this company, its employees, officers, and shareholders to identify any indications of their involvement in the anthrax mailings.
* Agriculture Veterinary Industry: In the early stages of the investigation, a national initiative was undertaken to identify individuals and groups within the agricultural and veterinary community (“Ag/Vet”) who had access to live Ames strain Bacillus anthracis cultures. The objective of the Ag/Vet initiative was to compile a list of such persons and determine whether they exhibited any of the other indicia that suggested involvement in the attacks. More than 200 entities in the Ag/Vet community were investigated to determine if any strains of Bacillus anthracis had been collected at the facility, and, if so, who at that facility had access to those strains.
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