FBI Letter to the Wall Street Journal defends the FBI’s Scientific Work in Anthrax Case

On February 1, 2010, I posted an article titled "FBI Laboratory Director Dr. Christian Hassell Responds to Edward Jay Epstein in the Wall Street Journal."

To underscore the fact that Dr. Hassell's letter to the WSJ reflects the official view of the FBI, his rebuttal was also posted as a (2-3-10) FBI press release about the Amerithrax case. The press release appeared as one of the Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending February 5, 2010:

Letter to the Editor on FBI’s Scientific Work in Anthrax Case

A version of this letter was published in The Wall Street Journal on February 1, 2010.

Letters to the Editor
The Wall Street Journal
1211 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10036
Dear Editor:

Monday’s opinion piece, “The Anthrax Attacks Remain Unsolved,” was filled with inaccuracies and omitted several relevant facts that are necessary for a balanced discussion of the science applied in the anthrax investigation.

From the outset, the FBI’s scientific work in the anthrax case has had a foundation in validation and verification of its approach and conclusions. This process began within weeks of the initial events of 2001 and has included:

consultation with numerous subject matter experts in technical panels;

collaboration with partner laboratories in government, academia and the private sector throughout the course of the investigation;

ongoing efforts to publish our work and that of our partner labs in peer-reviewed technical journals; and

analytical data and reports provided to the National Academy of Sciences so they can evaluate the scientific analysis applied to the evidence in the anthrax investigation.

The FBI is confident in the scientific findings that were reached in this investigation. We utilized established biological and chemical analysis techniques and applied them in an innovative manner to reach these findings.

D. Christian Hassell, Ph.D
Director
FBI Laboratory