Anthrax Investigation Should Be Investigated, Congressmen Say (Josh Meyer)

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Rush Holt

Sen. Charles Grassley and Rep. Rush Holt want hearings into the Justice Department and FBI's handling of the case.

WASHINGTON -- After seven long years, the FBI and the Justice Department say they are closing the books on the anthrax investigation.

{xtypo_quote_right} "The FBI has a lot of explaining to do," said Grassley, whose staff has already started consulting experts and collecting information. "They have been less than forthcoming with Congress throughout this entire process, and it deserves a full and thorough vetting." {/xtypo_quote_right}

But the investigation into the investigation is only beginning, and it will focus on what Congress members described Thursday as apparent missteps by authorities that dramatically prolonged the probe, unfairly maligned an innocent government scientist, and raised questions about whether federal agents had conclusively ruled out other suspects besides microbiologist Bruce E. Ivins.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.), frequent critics of the FBI, demanded a far more detailed release of documents by the bureau and the Justice Department to support the government's case, as well as congressional hearings into the investigation.

Grassley sent a three-page letter Thursday evening to Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, giving them two weeks to respond to 18 questions that raised concerns about virtually every aspect of the probe.

Holt, who represents the district from which the anthrax-laced letters were mailed, said in an interview that he was reaching out to other House members to discuss a combined inquiry of sorts by the judiciary, intelligence, science and technology, and government oversight committees.