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Bioterrorism expert sues government over anthrax scrutiny

Emergency Management Alert, September 5, 2003

The bioterrorism expert named as a "person of interest" in the 2001 anthrax attacks sued Attorney General John Ashcroft and other government officials August 26, claiming he was made a scapegoat for their failure to arrest a suspect in the case, the Associated Press reports.

Steven J. Hatfill said Ashcroft and other federal authorities ruined his reputation and job prospects by labeling him a person of interest, circulating his photo, and leaking parts of the investigation to the media. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, said Hatfill is under 24-hour surveillance, unable to freely speak with friends or relatives.

Hatfill wants his name cleared and seeks unspecified damages from Ashcroft, the Justice Department, and other current and former FBI and Justice Department officials.

Federal officials have said Hatfill is not a suspect and that they have no evidence directly linking him to the October 2001 attacks in which anthrax-tainted envelopes were sent to government and media offices. Five people died and 17 others were sickened as a result.

Hatfill once worked as a researcher at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick, MD. The facility housed the strain of anthrax found in the envelopes sent to the victims.

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