16 October 2001
Transcript: FBI, U.S. Justice Department Investigate Anthrax Threats
(Disease appears in four U.S. locales; multiple human exposures)
(3,370)
The U.S. Justice Department has no evidence at this time linking the
appearance of the potentially deadly disease anthrax with the
terrorist attacks of September 11. But even lacking that connection to
recent events, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said at a
Washington briefing October 16, "When people send anthrax through the
mail to hurt people and to invoke terror, it's a terrorist act."
Material infected with anthrax spores has appeared in three U.S.
states and Washington, D.C. over the last two weeks. In the nation's
capitol, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle announced October 15 that
the substance had been detected in mail opened by employees in his
office. In New York City and Florida, exposure to anthrax has been
confirmed in people who worked or visited the headquarters of media
outlets, with mail again considered a likely means of transmission.
Two individuals exposed in New York are being successfully treated for
a less dangerous form of skin anthrax. A more serious inhaled form of
the disease has killed one man in Florida, and a second individual has
been exposed. Tests of co-workers of these two victims at American
Media Incorporated reveal exposure to the disease, but not full-blown
infection.
Ashcroft and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert
Mueller discussed the investigation with reporters, saying no evidence
indicates an organized terrorist plot is at work in the anthrax
exposures.
"There are, however, certain similarities between letters sent to NBC
(television network) in New York and to Senator Daschle's office here
in Washington," said Mueller. "We are now testing, analyzing and
comparing powders from these letters to each other and to what we know
from Florida."
Mueller said the FBI has received 2,300 complaints about anthrax or
other suspicious substances since October 1, some of them false
alarms, jokes and hoaxes.
Ashcroft warned that false threats are illegal, and could result in a
five-year prison term.
Following is the transcript of the Ashcroft, Mueller news conference.
(begin text)
Attorney General Transcript
News Conference with FBI Director Mueller
DOJ Conference Room
October 16, 2001
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: In the weeks since the September 11th attacks, the
American people have been asked to balance a difficult set of
realities. We've asked Americans to go about their lives with a new
sense of awareness of the danger that terrorism brings to us, a danger
which continues to darken America. We have encouraged Americans to be
active, but vigilant; calm, but alert. We're extremely gratified with
the response that we've seen from the people. Overwhelmingly,
Americans have responded to the reality of terrorism with both
understanding and responsibility.
A few isolated individuals, however, have seen fit to compound the
concerns of America and of Americans by perpetrating false threats of
anthrax attacks. These acts are serious violations of the law and
grotesque transgressions of the public trust. False terrorist threats
tax the resources of an already overburdened enforcement system and
the public health system. They create illegitimate alarm in a time of
legitimate concern. Terrorism hoaxes are not victimless crimes, but
are the destructive acts of cowards.
The Department of Justice will prosecute and punish with the full
force of our laws, those who issue false anthrax threats or any other
form of terrorist threat.
Yesterday, the United States attorney for the District of Connecticut
charged Joseph Faryniarz, of Coventry, Connecticut, with intentionally
making false statements to a federal agent in connect with an anthrax
hoax.
On October the 11th, an employee of the Connecticut Department of
Environmental Protection found a powdery substance on a sheet of paper
with the misspelled word anthrax next to his work station. The
complaint charges that Faryniarz knew the incident was a hoax, but
reportedly stood by silent as 800 employees were evacuated and 12
employees were forced to disrobe and be washed down with a
decontamination solution. The complaint further charges that Faryniarz
lied to FBI agents repeatedly, and attempted falsely to implicate two
of his coworkers before confessing to knowledge of the hoax.
As this case demonstrates, false threats of anthrax and other
terrorist attacks carry high costs for consumers and taxpayers.
Officials of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
report that the two-day evacuation of their facilities necessitated by
this hoax may cost taxpayers up to a million and a half dollars. The
government has not yet calculated the expense involved in the response
by state, local and law enforcement officers.
Now, if Faryniarz is convicted for the crimes for which and with which
he has been charged, he could face a maximum sentence of up to five
years in prison and fine of up to twice the gross loss to the victims,
in this case potentially up to $3 million. We are currently working
with state and local officials in other parts of the country to
prosecute additional anthrax hoax cases.
It should be painfully obvious to every American today that the threat
of bioterrorism is no joking matter. For the victims and emergency
personnel who are called on to respond, every threat of terrorism is
real. The perpetrators of terrorist hoaxes should know that the
penalties for their crimes are real as well.
Like the American people, the Department of Justice takes these
offenses seriously. We will find the perpetrators of anthrax hoaxes.
We will prosecute the offenders, and we will punish the guilty for
their crimes.
MR. MUELLER: Good afternoon. This afternoon I want to spend a few
moments at the outset talking about the anthrax issue. As most of you
know, the FBI is investigating anthrax exposures and suspected anthrax
exposures in Florida, in New York, here in Washington, D.C. and
elsewhere around the country where such exposures have been reported.
Every threat is taken seriously. Every threat receives a full
response. We have no choice but to assume that each reported instance
is an actual biothreat. And while organized terrorism has not been
ruled out, so far we have found no direct link to organized terrorism.
There are, however, certain similarities between letters sent to NBC
in New York and to Senator Daschle's office here in Washington. And we
are now testing, analyzing and comparing powders from these letters to
each other and to what we know from Florida. And I should point out
that the tests are being done under the auspices of the Center for
Disease Control, CDC.
Since October 1, the FBI has received more than 2,300 incidents or
suspected incidents involving anthrax or other dangerous agents; and
as all of you know, an overwhelming majority of these incidents have
been false alarms or practical jokes. Nonetheless, the FBI will devote
whatever resources are necessary to investigate each of these
situations. However, I want to reiterate the comments of the attorney
general: Hoaxes, pranks and threats involving chemical or biological
agents are serious crimes and warrant a serious response. They will be
investigated thoroughly and vigorously by special agents of the FBI,
by the postal authorities, by local authorities and by other law
enforcement.
As the indictment discussed today makes clear, individuals who attempt
to prey on people's or persons' fears, or even to pull a prank, will
pay a price. In addition to the price that they are paying, they
should know that they are squandering millions of dollars in public
health and law enforcement resources, resources that could be better
spent in responding to actual terrorist acts. And more importantly,
they are taking manpower and time away from individuals who could be
ensuring that there are no future terrorist acts.
As incidents arise, we are working closely with the Centers for
Disease Control, with city and state public health officials and with
a host of federal, state and local law enforcement authorities. And we
greatly appreciate the help and expertise. FBI investigators and
specially trained scientists, public safety officers and hazardous
materials response experts are being called upon as needed, whether
they be at the federal government level or the state or the local
level. We are making a concerted and coordinated effort to keep state
and local law enforcement authorities informed and involved. And quite
obviously, their skills and expertise are top-notch and we need their
help.
Thank you. And I believe the attorney general and I would be happy to
take some questions.
QUESTION: Can you give us some idea of what are the similarities that
were found in the two letters, please?
MR. MUELLER: There are similarities of handwriting at this point, but
the letters are being analyzed still, and to draw a final conclusion
would be -- it would be premature to draw a final conclusion.
(Inaudible) -- a similar postmark of origin.
Q: Director or the AG, when you say so far we haven't found any link
to organized terror, what you're saying is so far you haven't found
any link to the believed perpetrators of the September 11th attacks.
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: I think -- let me see if I can clarify at least my
understanding here. Any time someone sends anthrax through the mail,
it's an act of terror. It's terrorism. And we treat it as an act of
terror and terrorism. But while we have not ruled out linkage to the
terrorist attack of September 11th or the perpetrators of that attack,
we do not have conclusive evidence that would provide a basis for a
conclusion that it is a part of that terrorist endeavor. But make no
mistake about it: When people send anthrax through the mail to hurt
people and to invoke terror, it's a terrorist act.
Q: Have you identified any of the strains of anthrax in any of these
cases? And are there any similarities, or are they the same or
different?
MR. MUELLER: The CDC is in the process of evaluating the samples that
were taken from New York and from D.C., Senator Daschle's office as
well as from Florida. And to discuss at this point any similarities
would be premature because those tests have not been concluded.
Q: Director Mueller?
MR. MUELLER: Yes?
Q: We've been hearing signs of tension in New York between the city
officials and the FBI. Are you confident that the FBI's response in
New York has been all it could be?
MR. MUELLER: I think there were missteps at the outset. I do not think
that in any way that affected the investigation. We did not as quickly
as we would have liked analyze an initial specimen from a letter that
turned out to be negative, not positive for anthrax.
In the wake of that, we have given direction to each office that
regardless of what we may think the threat should be or may be, to
move quickly to make certain that some authority, whether it be state,
local or federal authority, analyze it. I do not believe that that
initial misstep in any way adversely affected the investigation. Other
than that, I can think of no other area where there is tension between
ourselves and the state and local authorities in New York.
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: May I just add a comment there. I want to commend
the director for the constructive way in which he has addressed this
situation. There was this situation where an early letter with an
early suspicious substance wasn't communicated to the lab as quickly
as it might have been, in part because the person responsible was at
ground zero of the terrorist situation. And when this information was
developed, the director indicated to the New York office they should
share this information with the media, share it openly and indicate
that we're learning as we go forward. Great organizations are
organizations that know how to learn in the process of their
activities to improve. And I commend the bureau and the director. And
I am in contact regularly with individuals in the New York community,
and I believe our working relationship is very strong. And I
appreciate that fact, and am grateful for the kind of communication
that we have.
Q: Mr. Director --
MR. MUELLER: Let me just finish up with one thing on that. It was
reported that it sat for a period of time, that it sat for -- it was
not tested for three days, three days was too long. And this occurred
before we had the incident in Florida. So it was treated as an
ordinary -- what prior to the incident occurring in Florida, where we
found positive anthrax, it had been, unfortunately, treated as yet
another one that we've had over a number of years. So that's just to
put that in context.
Somebody else had a question?
Q: Related. Has the threat diminished at all since your warning from
last week?
MR. MUELLER: The threat has -- since the warning of last week the
threats have not diminished. However, when we issued the warning last
week, it was with a specific time parameter. We're still within that
time parameter, although, as I think you all know now, it was without
any specificity as to target or mechanism whereby the terrorist attack
would be carried out.
But because it was specific with regard to time, it was our belief
that federal, state, and local law enforcement should be on a higher
state of alert, and we remain on a higher state of alert.
Quite obviously, the incidents of anthrax exposures in the last couple
of days warrant such a continued state of alert.
Q: Some people have said that because of the public health
implications here, that this is not like other investigations --
criminal investigations; there's such an important preventive aspect
to this that this government's information flow needs to be faster, to
give more assurance to the public. Are you satisfied with the way that
the government has provided information? And could it, on an
investigative front, be a little swifter and more complete in order to
give more assurance to the public?
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Well, let me first confirm the fact that
prevention sometimes requires a different conduct on the part of an
agency than prosecution does. And we've had to reorient ourselves in
the context of terrorism to understand that prevention is our top
priority. And I believe we're doing that well. We have -- as the
director mentioned, we've been doing a couple hundred cases a year on
anthrax for quite some time.
But in this context, we are sharing information, but it is very
important that we share accurate information and that we don't
misinterpret sometimes preliminary indications or leap to conclusions
that are inappropriate.
But for prevention purposes, we have to get information to law
enforcement agencies and to prevention-responsible institutions at the
earliest possible time. And in that event, we err on the side of
sharing information.
For prosecution purposes, there are different standards that are used.
But -- and this is an important understanding that we have had to
bring into our culture, which we really previously hadn't felt, and
that's the necessity for the priority of prevention, which requires
sharing information aggressively. We make sure the information is
good.
There is nothing that would destabilize or otherwise erode our
capacity to serve well like information that was unreliable. So we try
to make sure we develop the highest possible reliability. Yes, sir?
Q: Director Mueller, two questions for you. Can you bring us up to
speed on the investigation, the number of people currently under
arrest? And can you tell us whether anyone currently under arrest has
any -- there's any evidence directly linking them to bin Laden or to
al Qaeda?
MR. MUELLER: Well, I can't tell you the exact number of individuals
under detention for a variety of reasons. As we have said before, in
the course of the investigation, individuals have been detained, and
where they have been interviewed and found to be out of status with
their -- out of status with the Immigration Service, which warrants
detention, they are here out of status and deportation procedures will
have been started.
There are a handful of individuals who have been detained on material
witness warrants. And I'll make the point again that where an
individual is detained on a material witness warrant, that material
witness warrant has been issued by a judge, and the proceedings go
forward under the authority of the judge, and the individual is
accorded counsel.
The last category where there have been arrests within the United
States are where an individual who we sought in the investigation has
found to have been in violation of either local, state or federal laws
and has been arrested on those outstanding charges.
Now, around the country -- not the country. Around the world there
have also been detentions and arrests by a number of countries with
whom we are working. And, of course, I'm not -- I don't have the exact
numbers there.
Q: My second question was on any links with the people arrested in
this country or detained, links to al Qaeda or to bin Laden?
MR. MUELLER: I tell you, it is not appropriate at this point to
discuss what we have come across in the investigation with regard to
that which may be considered evidence.
STAFF: One more question, please.
Q: General Ashcroft, you're meeting later today with Arab- American
leaders. Can you tell us along those lines how you plan to address and
answer concerns about treatment of some of the 700 who are in custody,
about access to lawyers, about adequate facilities, and time for
prayer, concerns that have now come up in the last few days?
ATTY GEN. ASHCROFT: Well, we have, first of all, detained only
individuals who are in violation of the law, are illegally in the
country, or are being detained as a result of a court-ordered material
witness warrant.
Secondly, each person detained has been accorded a right to counsel,
so that those who have been detained are being given rights, and those
rights are accorded.
Thirdly, I would be happy to hear from individuals if there are any
alleged abuses of individuals, because that is not the way we do
business. We are aggressive in detaining those who have violated the
law and those who are illegally in this country and are associated
with or have been involved with terrorist groups, or are sympathetic
to terrorist groups. But we will respect the constitutional rights and
we will respect the dignity of individuals.
I might just add that I am pleased to meet with the group of both Sikh
Americans and Arab Americans and Muslim Americans, and to assure them
that it is the policy of the Justice Department to enforce laws that
would guarantee that Americans, regardless of their national origin,
are to be respected and their rights are to be safeguarded.
Together with the FBI -- and I'm pleased always to work with the
director -- we are in the process of working on about 170 cases where
there has been discrimination alleged, in one way or another, that
relates to members of these communities. We are pursuing these cases
aggressively, as we have indicated in other opportunities we've had to
speak with you and discuss these cases. And I will be pleased to have
their suggestions for other ways in which we can help provide a basis
for the public's understanding that all Americans are to be respected
and accorded the kind of dignity and integrity of their persons, and
that any who infringe that undermine and erode a clear policy of this
administration.
Last, I would -- and not least, of course -- I would commend the
president of the United States for his strong encouragement of these
values being reflected in what we do, and thank the director for his
clear statements and his aggressive prioritizing of the rights of
Americans in this respect. And I'm pleased to have joined them in that
regard.
Thank you all very much.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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