Document text
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONFD-1023 Rev. 6-22-2007!
Confidential Human Source CHS! Reporting Document
Reporting Date: 06/06/2008
Case ID: 279 - - USAMRIID Pending! -I30
Pending!
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINEDContact Date: O6/05/2008 Emmluuéump
DATE 12-DB-BUGS BY EUEEQ UC
Type of Contact: Telephonic
Location: Manassas, Virginia
Written by: SAI I
Other s! Present:
Source Reporting:
A Confidential Human Source CHS!, who is NOT in a
position to testify, provided the following information:
United States Army Medical Research Institute of
Infectious Diseases USAMRIID!, Fort Detrick, Maryland,
employee, BRUCE IVINS, informed fellow employees that he has
not been at work recently. IVINS, however, did not disclose
the reason for his absence from work.
H also reported that USAMRIID fax line number
is located in the office ofI I
Office isI hf USAMRIID'sI I
Division.
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I :~»FD-302 Rev. 10-6-95!
- 1 _ALL IIJFCIPJ-IATIDIJ CIIIIITAII-TED
T-IEREI15] Tl? TITiIi".I..iliif-i [FTII?iI
DATE l2iI!S2!I!UI3 BY 6U32*l UC B1l'ltI.|"IlIK:
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date of transcription Q 6 Z 2 5 Z 2 O O 8
92
On June 6, 2008
Account Number SSAN!Social Securith< Mil
: a e 0 irt DOB : b6
E::::] was interviewed at t e Fe ral Bureau of Investigation FBI! b7@
Amerthrax Task Force Frederick, Maryland office. After being
advised of the identity of the agents and the purpose of the
interview, as well as being reminded of a previous NonDisclosureA
,Agreement Forn[::]had signed{:::::::::::]provided the following
information:
was asked to recall the ioint research
projec was involved withI I
I Iwas tasked to
conduct research with Bacilus anthracis Ba!1 b 5
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BR IVINS. indicated that
obtain Ba from IVINS since IVINS was the most knowledgealeI | Lfbtained Ames Bi forl Iresearch from Inix to
Investigation on O 6/ 0 6 /2 O O 8 at FOIC Detrick , Maryland
File# 279AWF222936'USAMRIID ~92'~8Q§5 Date dictated N/A
SAby PI I I be
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This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency;
it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
,4,;,5,</4»//46 /I:IQ7<§"
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Continuation 0fFD-302 of __| I , On O 6 / O 6 /2 O O 8 , Page 2b6
USAMRIID scientist at the time pertaining to Ba. I |
Concerning the topic of BRUCE IVINS, |
expressed that IVINS's own behavior sin ant rax investigationb h b I i , egan as een self destructive. pointed to IVINS's
self initiated environmental sampling shortly after the anthrax
mailin a an example of IVINS own self destructive behavior.[::::::¬f::j characterized IVINS as a "fruitcake" and opined that
IVINS ha een somewhat of an antagonist for years at USAMRIID.E:::::::j%fi explained that since the first Gulf War, IVINS and many
other researchers at USAMRIID, because of the shift in research
priorities, were forced basically to conduct many menial type ,
laboratory tasks normally reserved for laboratory technicians, not
Principal Investigators. This shift in everyday work
responsibilities and func ions appeared to effect IVINS and hethen appeared to be disqru tled at times.| I |
IVINS tended to internalize his frustration and would not confront
anyone. According to[:::::::::::] IVINS would hold a grudge and
would not let it go.
[::::::::::::]continued thad[::]is not aware of any
_ specific negative feelings IVINS may have towards politicians NewYorkers, or any media outlets or media personalities.[::::::::::::::]b6
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is aware of IVINS enchant for writing letters to various newspaper|editorsI Irecalled that occasionally, IVINS,[::::::::]
E I would make inappropriat
references ertaining to the Jewish faith. A arentl , accordingto[::::::::?::] for no reason whatsoever.[:::?f::::::iexp1ained
that the remarks were not necessarily derogatory in nature but
described them as simply inappropriate.
Upon being advised by the interviewing agents that some
significant discrepancies had been identified pertaining to-IVINS
submission of various Ba slants in 2002 to the FBI repository
FBIR![:::::::::::]commented that IVINS may have just been
|| ' ' | II I I
Iadvised that IVINS has been preparing slants .
for thirty-five 5! years.
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ALL IHFIJPI-LETIEIDT fCIl]TAII-IEI1
HEREIN I3 T,T1IIlILit§'3EIFIED
]I92Et'I'E lEIIli3ElIlIIlEi ET ilg-ll TJIZ BAT1].-"D31,-"F.'t'S
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
i p A ! J also known s| ISocial Security Account mber SSAN!:| | Date oE%Birth DOB!| I was interviewed as prearranged n themorning or May Z8, 2UUB.| Iwas already familiar with the
identity of the interviewin a ents. After being advised of thenature of the interview,[::?::?provided the following information:
[::::::]advised that since the November'§OO7, Federal
Bureau of Investigation FBI! interviews of BRUC§ IVINS and the
searches of IVINS's work space at the United Stat s Army Medical
Research Institute of Infectious Diseases USAMRIfD!, everybody at
USAMRIID has been quiet and scared. IVINS has not been at work for
disability, possibly related to having some kind of nervous
breakdown[:::::] advised that the majority of USAMRIID employees
feel bad for IVINS.
indicated that has not spoken to IVINS since the
time frame and that -
{J hadspoken to IVINS sometime in December 2007 and ayised IVINS to keep
his enemies close to him as "you never can tell who your supporters
are."
Iadvised that i Iweretoo would probably do the same thing, that is to point the
finge others in efforts to remove the shadow of suspicion from
,=yourself.
Investigation o_n O 5 /2 8 / 2 O 0 8 at Frederick , Maryland
inn # 2 79AWF ~ 2 22 93 s USA192/IRIID " V6 O3 Date dictated N/A
P11by SA l
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency;
it and its cont6|1tS are not to be distributed outside your agency.
6£,</aw?- /16/:s<>2§<>?
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII--I--_~Date of tmnscription O 6 Z 19 Z 2 O Q 8
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the past several weeks and the general consensus among UBAMRIID 92employees is that IVINS is out of work on some kind of medical
FD-302:1 Rev. 10-6-95! 0 '
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[::::::]elaborated tha
thought and behavioral process
anthropological aspect of a pet when trying to analyze IVINS
one needs to comprehend the
rson and completely immerse oneselfin his personality.£;:::::]advised that investigators need to'
understand that IVI is a cons irac theorist and is someone whois very nervous and paranoid.[:?::::fkxplained IVINS behavior of. . 1 .pointing the finger at others
put in a "pressure cooker" and
elaborated that IVINS has been
over the recent years. Partly
investigation, but also due to
since the late 1990s and early
USAMRIID's research emphasis a
from vaccine d researchAccording to[ffiiEj this aspec
investigation caused IVINS to
behavior whereby he respondeds simply the result of IVINS beinhaving no other alternative. [:::§:]
under a lot of strain and pressure
due to the anthrax letter
the over-all climate at USAMRIID
2000s. During this time frame t
nd subsequent funding began to shift
to therapeutic related research.
t along with the pressures of the FBIgo into a "preservation" ype
or blaming others, such as|to this tvpe pressure bv ashinq Qt
for the anthrax-laced letter m ailings. ' X s
[:::::]advised thatrhE_aIIi1£d_ft USAMRIIT:af] approximately the same time had left. had heard
stories about| ' from various USAMRIID
employees.|
92 .
Up until as recently as November advised that
IVINS still occasionally brings up the name and implies
that[::::::::] could very e the mailer of the anthrax letters.IVINS would point out tol and others who would listen that
and information passed down t
thathndicated, based on second0| lover the vears frqm_11lN5*___1
motive for mailing
the anthrax laced letters was to to
hurt the institution USAMRIID!.
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[:::::] advised that back in thel Ito earllYL;impframe, IVINS's work group, consisting of IVINS,| I[:g::::i%%::::::] was a very tight knit group. Upon befig advisedt at IVI _ has also cast suspicion to FBI investigators 92hat
I been responsible for the aAthraxLlaced letter maiIingsTEi:ffTexpressed disappointment and sur risethat IVINS pointed the finger at 3indicated that over the ears ad never heard IVINS express such
a belief and in fact, name rarely ever came up in
onv r t' ' ' ' ' c e sa ion, even in conversation at various sQg;al_gaLherings' I
NS ently liked to joke abo t bein ects. | Iaccording to IVINS,| iwas the FBI's '
nu er one suspect while IVINS emained in the top
five. According to IVINS, was in he top ten of the FBI's
anthrax investigation suspec ist.
was asked to qive| lopinions of former USAMRIID
employee indicated that] Iwas a verybright an capa e I
__ 7 _ J. _
[:::::]reiterated that IVINS's pointing the finger atIis surprising but not shocking.[;:] ex lained'fhat IVINS's behavior is like that of a trapped anima . [::%::] to
this day, does not believe that IVINS anything to do with theanthrax mailings. Reflecting back,E::?f§]recalled that IVINS "tooka lot of heat" for his involvement in conducting unauthorized and
self initiated environmental sampling of various Bacteriology
Division work space shortly after USAMRIID received the anthrax
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Continuation of FD-302 of _I I , On O 5 / 2 8 / 2 O O 8 , Page 4
laced letters for analysis. E::::] expressed thatI::]was of the
belief that IVINS conducted the unauthorized environmental sampling
simply out of concern for the safety of USAMRIID personnel and for
no other reason.
As the interview continued,[::::::]was given the
opportunity to review several email communications authored byIVINS over the past several years whereby IVINS frequently refers
o I t
I re iedthat the emails make IVINS appear to be schizophrenic.I Q]
WFO NOTE: enclosed in the FD134O associated with this
communication is this email!
as kicked around various Eheories
an i eas wi an 0 ers pertaining to the various
possibilities as to how the anthrax powder used in the mailings was
created.I Iwas just kicking around ideas,
including Ehe notion Ehat one could better make anthrax powderusing a drying agent such as acetone.I I I
I
over the years, particularly in the late 1990's and early 2000 time
frame, IVINS has appeared to become jealous of[:::]Jealous in the
sense that IVINS is resentful that due to the shift in
priorities from vaccine toI I
WFO NOTE: enclosed in the FD-340 associated with this
communication is this email!
[:::::]indicated that for many years IVINS had been the
number one Bacteriology researcher at USAMRIID as far as being ableto write ro osals and obtain subsequent funding92¬or researchprojects.%::E::] further clarified that as a resu t in the shift inresearch strategies, researchers like IVINS and were at a
disadvantaged Whereas because of the funding obtains yresearchers like IVINS and[::::::]use to pay the salaries of theb6
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Continuation ofFD-302 of __I I , On O 5 / 2 8 / 2 O O 8 , Page 5
other Bacteriology scientists,I I I
Iadvised that he still currently
considers IVINS a very valuable scientist.
Isimply commented that lVINS is
resentful ofI Iand is stewin internally.[::::::]reiterated thatfeels bad or IVINS and thaaizj really likes him a lot. I I
IVINS while outwardly laughing at the many anthrax
investigation jokes, in retrospect has been internalizing the
joking around and letting it bother him.[:::::]indicated that
although IVINS appears to have been bothered by the many jokes
leveled at him and the investigation, he also never spoke up or
suggested that the joking stop. ,In fact, IVINS often was right in
the middle of the jokes, frequently as the instigator.
» WFO NOTE: enclosed in the FD340 associated with this
communication is this email! '
In an email datedI I wherebv IVINS cast
suspicion onI I
Ihas not personally92 lIbenefitted financially but that USAMRIID as a whole has benefitted
WFO NOTE: enclosed in the FD34O associated with this
communication is this email!
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advised thaq |dTH not discuss the morphological
similarities of the anthrax evidentiary powders with that of the Ba
obtained from IVINS publicly until sometime after the Vanity Fair
article addressing this same issue was published.
f Ames Ba identifie s shown two photographs oand L |advised thathad never before seen t e photoqraphs. Pert ' '
WFO NOTE: enclosed in the FD-340 associated with thiscommunication are the two photocopies of Ba shown to[::::::]
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[:::::]was asked to opine on IVINS's frequent and lengthy
late night activity in the hot suites at USAMRIID during themailing window of the anthraxlaced letters.[::::;:1opined that
although unusual, IVINS has always worked frequen ate night hours
in the hot suites.[::::::]adNised that even in the very recent
past, IVINS still continued to come into USAMRIID at very oddhours. L |even spoke to IVINS about his 2
continuing to draw attention to himself by working odd and late
night hours and 'nformed IVINS that his behavior was self
destructive. did not offer an opinion as to the lack of
justification IVINS provided investigators pertaining to his late
night hot suite activity.[::::::]expressed that IVINS was possibly
attempting to "spring a trap" on investigators by constantly
casting suspicion on other researchers at USAMRIID.
I
IVINS has not divulged any information to
' dicative of IVINS having any kind of mental health issues.
opined that because of the advent of USAMRIID's Personal
Responsibility Program PRP!, employees are less ' to divulgesuch personal information for fear of reprisal. Eiiifiladvised that
until November 2007, nobody at D would have r flagged"IVINS as a person if interest. advised that[::ihas not had
any communications with IVINS since
advised Ehat employee morale at USKMRTTD is low, and
attributed the low morale to the recent "DAG" inspection. [:::::]
indicated that USAMRIID employees are angry and ready to leave in
droves as a result of managements current decision making process
described as "Does it pass the Washington Post test?" Meaning is
there a politically correct aspect to scientific research problems.
E:::::%was unaware of IVINS interest in sororities andcould not provi ed any informaédon linking IVINS to New Jersey.
I IVINS had
specifically queried lconcerning thquestioning both] [subjected to atE;iii:f:::;:gadvised IVIN ' . Ialso in ica e a S to just be truthful
also queried| Iabout theHb3
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[:::;:]opined that whomever mailed the anthraxlaced gigletters must ave possessed and prepared the anthrax powder quite
some time prior to September ll, 2001. [:::::]was also of the
opinion that if the anthraxlaced letters originated from USAMRIID
then the act of preparing the anthrax powder and loading theenvelopes would have to be done in a class 3 hood in Building[::::]
Whoever perpetrated the mailings had to have tre a[pertaining to how Q9 dry B§_J
|characterized Ehe anfhrax powder as
incredible and reiterated that the anthrax mailings were very
p premeditated. [:::::]opined that the anthraxlaced letter that was
mailed to Florida is the "odd ball" mailing and that investigative
efforts should hone in on that mailing. .
In closing,[:::::]reiterated that[::]does not believe
that IVINS had anything to do with the anthraxlaced letters and
opined that all the e-mails whereby IVINS is casting suspicion on
those around him is simply IVINS's way of getting back at USAMRIIDand is a result of his suffering from some form of paranoia.[:::::]
opined that IVINS is just trying to protect himself.O
O/ IO
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279AWF-222936USAMRIID ALL1nnmmu1mq:mninmn[::::::::::::] HPEIN I5 UEELAESIFIED
DATE 12-12-zone at 50324 UE BAWEDKERIS
The following investi ation was conducted on July16-17, 2008, by Special Agent[?:::::::::]of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation:
As previously reported trash cover operations have
been conducted in support of the above ca tioned investigationand one such operation recovered[::::;:::E:;:]Division Alert
Roster for civilian personnel assigne to t e same at the
United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious
Diseases USAMRIIDL, Fort Detrick, Maryland.
I database queries on
associated with this Alert Roster were con ucte y
wri er It should be noted that in some instances derogatory
results will be addressed under separate communication s!.
Through investigation the following USAMRIID[::::::::::::]Division personnel are further defined as:Page
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Case ID : 279AWF222936USAMRIID Serial : 1814
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LAST NAME : IVINS
FIRST NAME : BRUCE6
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Precedence: ROUTINE Date: 8/05/2008
To: Washington Field Attn: SA[:::::::::::::::]
AMERITHRAX2
From; Laboratory
ORS/ Hazardous Materials Response Unit
Contact: ssA| |
APPIO/ed BY= ALI. I1uFn11:1-Lrrinla CEINTAII-TED
Case ID #: 279AWF2229364USAMRIID Pending!
Title: AMERITHRAX;
MAJOR CASE 184;
OO:WF.
Synopsis: FBI Hazardous Materials Response Unit HMRU! assets
provided safety, scientific, and logistical support for the
searches of multiple sites at the United States Army Medical
Research Institute for Infectious Disease USAMRIID!, Fort
Detrick Maryland and a single family residence to include upto[;;:;;vehic1es located at[::]DMJitary Road, Frederick,
Mary an on November 12, 2007 as requested by the Washington
Field Division.
Reference: 279AWF222936USAMRIID, Serial 1763.
Details: The Washington Field Division provided the following
background information to HMRU. Analysis of the spores used in
the Fall 2001 anthrax attacks identified the organisms to be
the Ames strain of Bacillus anthracis. The anthrax spore
powders recovered from the anthrax letters addressed to the
New York Post Post! and Tom Brokaw Brokaw! contain low
levels of a nonanthracis Bacillus contaminant. The non-
anthracis Bacillus contaminant has not been detected in the
anthrax spore powders recovered from the envelopes mailed to
either Senators Leahy or Daschle.
Originally, the species of the nonanthracis
Bacillus contaminant was incorrectly identified by multiple
laboratories, however, upon thorough characterization and
genetic sequencing, the contaminant was identified to be a
strain of Bacillus subtilis. This is a significant factor for
the search operations outlined herein. Since Bacillus
organisms can be misidentified to belong to other Bacillus
species, the guideline for the collection of cultures
consistent with the Bacillus contaminant will be to collect
Case ID : 279AWF222936USAMRIID Serial : 1815Page
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HEREIN is UNCLASSIFIED b? Drafted By: | I DATE 12-as-2005 BY 60324 UIZ BA'uIfDI'IfF.'1§5 1
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non-anthracis Bacillus cultures.
Bacillus subtilis is a nonpathogenic bacterium
found ubiquitously in the environment. However, genomic DNA
sequencing of the specific isolate of Bacillus subtilis
discovered within the Post and Brokaw anthrax powders reveals
that it is genetically distinct from other known isolates of
Bacillus subtilis. Analyses of the Bacillus subtilis from
both the Post and the Brokaw envelopes revealed that these two
isolates are identical.
USAMRIID is a military research institute located on
Detrick, U.S. Army Post in Frederick, Maryland.
Prior to the anthrax attacks in the Fall of 2001, USAMRIID was
one of sixteen 6! U.S. laboratories which possessed the Ames
strain of Bacillus anthracis. Phenotypic and genetic analyses
of more than 1,000 Ames samples from the sixteen 6!
laboratories has led investigators to conclude that the
Bacillus anthracis used in the anthrax letter attacks was
derived from a sample known as RMRlO29. At the time of its
creation, RMR-1029 consisted of a large batch of pure, highly
concentrated, Bacillus anthracis Ames spores, assembled for
the purpose of conducting numerous anthrax aerosol challengesat USAMRIID. RMR-l02Tgwiilstored in the[::::] containmentthe Fort
suite within Building of USAMRIID under the custody and
control of Dr. Bruce E war s Ivins.
The Bacillus subtilis contaminant is not detected in
RMRlO29 by phenotypic or genetic analyses. It is not known
how the Bacillus subtilis contaminant came to be in the Post
and Brokaw spore powders. Since the contaminant is not found
in RMR-1029 and not found in the spore material mailed to
Senators Leahy and Daschle, it is reasonable to conclude that
the contaminant was introduced during the growth process of
the evidentiary material. Taken together, the presence of the
Bacillus subtilis contaminant, and the phenotypic differences
of the evidentiary spore powders, it is presumed that, on two
separate occasions, a sample of RMRlO29 was used to grow
spores, dried to a powder, packaged in an envelope with a
threat letter, and mailed to the victims.
In November of 2006, upon consent provided by
USAMRIID Command, strains of Bacillus subtilis, were collected
from Dr. Ivins's stock collection. All of the collected
samples compared negatively to the Bacillus subtilis
contaminant isolated from the Post and Brokaw envelopes. In
June of 2007, upon consent provided by USAMRIID Command,
environmental samples were collected from[:::::]space and
equipment; but, ultimately compared negatively to the
evidentiary Bacillus subtilis contaminant.
On November 1-2, 2007, the Washington Field Office
WFO! AMERITHRAX Squads, with assistance from the Hazardous
Materials Response Unit HMRU!, the Evidence Response Team
ERT!, the Hazardous Materials Response Team HMRT!, and the
Computer Analysis Response Team CART! conducted searches ofPage
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the residence of Dr. Ivins, his vehicles, and his work and
office spaces within building 1425 of USAMRIID.
The searches began in the evening hours in an
attempt to minimize interference and contact with USAMRIID
personnel, and possible media exposure of the searches and
search personnel. As such, all discussions regarding these
searches were treated as Law Enforcement Sensitive and only
shared with those persons with a clear need to know.
FBI Hazardous Materials Response Unit HMRU! assets
provided safety, scientific, and logistical support for the
searches of multiple sites at the United States Army Medical
Research Institute for Infectious Disease USAMRIID!, Fort
De ' Maryland and a single family residence to include upto1fiiE]'vehicles located ar.[::]Military Road, Frederick,
Maryland on November 1-2, 2007 as requested by the Washington
Field Division. As such the HMRU considers this lead covered.
LEAD s!:
Set Lead 1: Info!
WASHINGTON FIELD AMERITHRAX2!
AT WASHINGTON DC
Read and Clear.Page
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U.!~~-_ORev.06-0442007!
0zc;1ss1F1En av 50321 UC BAUfD§£R?SNOFORN 0:1 12-|1s-2002;
FWE[DEHl92L.I3lJFlEU92ll CIF7Ill92!E§511 ilYTICIll
Precedence: ROUTINE Date: O8/18/2008
To: Washington Field
From: Washington Field
AMX2 / bémContact: sA| l b*
i»,__Sase ID #§"@ 279A-WF-222936-USAMRIID Pendingbr/g/7
Title; "QQ AMERITHRAX;
1 MAJOR CASE 184
SynopsisE KEQ To update captioned investigation.
1 ' From :
Decl ' . 1
Reference. 279A-WF-222936, Serial 6584
279AWF222936IT, Serial 12
279AWF222936IT, Serial 669
279AWF222936~LEAD, Serial 753
279AWF222936POI, Serial 995
279AWF-222936POI, Serial 1347U UM 279AWF-222936USAMRIID, Serial 485i J 279A-WF-222936USAMRIID, Serial 489
279AWF222936USAMRIID, Serial 1098
279AWF222936USAMRIID, Serial 1207
279A-WF222936-USAMRIID, Serial 1243
279AWF222936USAMRIID, Serial 1578
279AWF222936302, Serial 988
S 279AWF222936302, Serial 4372
S! 279AWF222936302, Serial 4867
Detailsi SQ Pursuant to Major Case 184, investigative efforts
sought to identify those countries possessing the Ames strain of
Bacillus anthracis; the bacterium responsible for the disease
anthrax, and the same bacterium used in the anthrax-laced letter
mailings of 2001. On 12/12/2001, the| |
office, as well other numerous FBI offices, were directed to
b7D
éiei/NQFQRN
. /NOFORN
To: Qgfhington Field From: Washington Field
tRe¬"W" 279AWF222936USAMRIID, O8/18/2008
conduct comprehensive interviews at foreign Universities and
entities handling virulent Bacillus anthracis or possessing thecapabilities to handle ' ' ' ~
222936IT, Serial 12!.
" " %¢81NF! While numerous domestic and foreign
institutions and entities have been identified as possessing the
Ames strain of Bacillus anthracis, investigative efforts to date
have identified one domestic institution, the United States Army
Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases USAMRIID!,
Fort Detrick, Maryland, as necessitating additional investigative
scrutiny. USAMRIID has been identified as being one such U.S.
repository for the Ames strain of Bacillus anthracis
1995 and 2001, twentyone foreign nationals from the[;:;::] have been identified as visiting USAMRIID In or er to
e ermine if the[::::::]visitors had access to the Bacteriology
Division containment suites housing the Ames strain of Bacillus
anthracis the investigation took a tripartite approach to the
matter: ! Exhaustive database queries from within the FBI and
outside the FBI were conducted to determine if any of the 21
individuals had any International Terrorism IT! or Foreign
Counterintelligence FCI! nexus, ! their USAMRIID point of
contacts POCs! were throuqhlv interviewed and/or investigated,and ! the| lwas interviewed, if
warranted.
ttttttt ~Wc r @§! The database queries referenced supra were
conducted first and have been documented under a separate heading
79AWF-222936LEAD, Serial 753!.
f " "*%~»»i§§! The ' 't USAMRIID by these 21 foreign
nationals rom the can be directlv related to
seven ! USAMRIID POCs. I
Through interview s! and investigation it wasdetermined that and l
/NOFORN
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To: Washington Field From: Washington Field
2'79AWF222936USAMRIID, 08/18/2008
U?
positions at USAMRIID and did not have access to locations at
USAMRIID known to contain the Ames strain of Bacillus anthracis.
Furthermore, as it relates to their foreign visitor s! from theIwas escorted while at USAMRIID
quail]? For the remaining four !| Ib6
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<¢ar
cm /NOFORN
To? _wgshington Field From: Washington Field
Re: ! 279A-WF222936USAMRIID, O8"/18/2008
m~~%
| There has been no evidence
or a11egation s! discovered to date that would suggest that theLh Ior one of its citizens were involved in or
ad_knowledge of the anthraxlaced letter mailings of 2001.
m "d r @{B{ Unless or until such evidence or alle ation s! arediscovered, no further investigation of said[::::::iforeign
visitors to USAMRIID is warranted.
66
OFORN
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FD-302 Rev. 10-6-95! O 0
-1-f
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
ALL IHFUBHATIUN CONTAINED
HPEIH Is UHELAESIFIED __
DATE 12-us-200:2: Bl 50324 LIE EAIII_»' DK_fP.'t'S Dam of 1T=m$=PY1°" 0 7 Z 2 l Z 2 0 0 8
I __ Ialso known asI _ I kgSocial Security Account*NEEbe¬ I§SAN!:I IDate o§§Birth 57¢ DOB! I W : a interviewe as pre arranged on the
morning of July 21, 2008. as already familiar with the
identity of the interviewin a ents After being advised of thenature of the interview,[::¬::jprovided the following information:
Prior to any questio§ing[:::::Iwas advised of;BRUQE
IVINS's recent behavior and IV S's unspecific t o possiblyHarm se around him or those gho work with him?fffif:jindicatedthatIffThad already heard "through the grapevine" at USAMRIID that
IVINS's doctor had reported to law enforcement authorities that
s going to hurt himself and others.[:::::] assumed that[:::]Egiiiigfcould possibly be a person IVINS would purportedly target.
advised that the day before IVINS was escorted from USAMRIIDby law enforcement officials,[:;Jhad crossed paths with IVINS at
USAMRIID and that IVINS appeare to be in good spirits and tha
IVINS was actually singing in the hallways.
I I Iwas asked to recall a specific incident which took
place at USAMRIID pertaining to submissionof a Bacillus anthracis IBaI sample known as Ames[ggg;;;%E::::::::1
[:::::]specifically recalled the sample in question and also recalled
some of the ' s issues and " cumstances pertaining to thissubmission.Ef%fifTadvised that[i;jhad previously been questioned byFederal Bureau of Investigation FBI! agentsI I
pertaining to this precise Ba sample and at this timeI Ihad
turned over to the interviewing agents an email from IVINS
pertaining to this submission matter. was shown a copy of the
email from IVINS to with the subject line,
"Ames strain Ireco nized the email and confirmedit as appearing to be fhe same emailii:]had turned over to FBI in a
previous interview.
indicated that to the best of[:::]recollection,
back in the time frame, IVINS was asked to submit Basample to the FBI Repository FBIR!{:;::::]opined that
because sample was listed on IVINS's a inventory sheet asb6
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K being located in Bui1aingI:| IVINS,I I
I
Investigation on O 7/2 1/2 O O 8 at Frederick , Maryland
OFile # 279AWF222 936USAMRIID - /Q/ZZI Date dictated N/A
PI
by S
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of "the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency;
it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.F/45 "" é * 3I
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indicated that Ba samplel lwas not] |Zi.e.
never on inventory! and that[::]was not con ing any type
of research with this sample [:::::]reiterated that was simply
doing IVINS a favor by looking for it in Building
advised that[:]imas unable to locate the sample in
question in laboratory space in Building roo |i advised that since[::]could not locate the sampld I re a d thatIVINS came in to USAMRIID over the weekend in Building[%:%%Tand also
could not locate the sample. advised that IVINS could not} look for the sample in theE:E§;;;;;k:]laboratory suites over the
' weekend because IVINS did not ave access PIN code! to thosei suites. E:::::]advised that theE:::%;::%;;;suites in[:::]would
have been accessible only to those t at a a PIN code for thosesuites, and IVINS did not have a PIN code to[:::::::]knowledge.
g:;::::]recalled that after not being able to locate the
sample o a over the weekend, IVINS, the following Monday, asked»_ H to go into thesuites to look for the sample. | b2
apparently located the Ba sample in a refrigerator located b7F
in the suites in Building| |wa 'ven a floor[plan o Bui in nd identified room or room? q as the I
1 indicated that IVINS frequently used room| |to aliquot material in
i preparation for animal challenges but that IVINS had to be allowed
access to the suites i e some one have to let him intoroom| or . ireiterated IVINS did not have a PIN code
to room or on the hot~side of USAMRIID Buildin [::::]b6
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'Upon further review of the IVINS email mentioned above, b6|:| advised that |:|did not find it unusual for IVINS to be MC
uncertain of the parentage of the Ba sample in question.[::::::]_ V
reiterated that because several years had elapsed since this1ncident,E::lcould not recall all of the specific detailssurroundin his sample and its submission[::; went on to advise
h I It at to recollection, once| Ilocate sample[:::::::::] thematerial was given| Isubsequently prepared slants of the
material and submitte t e s ants to the FBIR.[::::::]opined thatonce had located the material[:;:::::]either handed it toor simply placed it in[::::::] re rigerator in room[:::]
advised that after preparing the slants he could not recall
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cwmwmwonmamor I ,OnO7/21/2008 ,m@b6
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but believed that turned over the remaining Ba to FBI Agentspecifically whatF::¥had done with the tube of remaining Ba material
H lmay have documentation or 1
notes which would indicate the transfer of the Ba from to
whomever[::::::]advised that[::]was fairly certain that did not
transfer the remaining Ba material to IVINS because that would have
created unnecessary paperwork documenting ansfer of Ba from
one b 'l in ' ' ' tob¬
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ui d g to another Building[;;:;l also|may have destroye e remaini ut will£;::::]
' records to determine if an documentation exists whichy wou
corroborate either the destruction autoclave! or the transfer oflthe remaining Ba]
l;:;;:;;;:;Lasked id[:] recalled receiving FBI i 'opertaini bmission of Ba samples to the FBIRY TfEf%fEf
advised that[:] did receive instructions and as a matter of fact,[:;g:::]advised that[::]disagreed with some of the methods outlined
e submission instructions. Inparticular,E:::::]disagreed with
instructions that dealt with the thawing of material before
submitting the slants to the FBIR. It was[::::::] belief~that the
viability of the material is significantly decreased by 90% to 95
each and every time thawing is achieved.
| I A if the material is in a tube,L__]would vortex the material. I the Ba material is in a flask,E::]would
swirl and loop the material and would run fluid in the pipette upand down to mix it.[::::;:gindicated thaq[::]would find it very "o
if someone had not swir e the material prior to*obtaining an
aliquot and placing onto a slant.HS ha
ALip
in
the
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dd II
hypothesized that because| lat
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92150-302a Rev. 10-6-95! a
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Continuation of FD-302 of I I , On O '7 / 2 1 / 2 O O 8 , Page _4_
conducted research utilizing other separate stocks of Ba material
that cross contamination occurring between all of these samples was
a distinct possibility]: advised that back during the anthrax
laced letter mailing time frame, security and the movement of people
and biological material in and out of USAMRIID was significantly
more lax that it is today.
lrecalled that most of the samples
reviousl maintained in the cold room I b;| were anthrax samples named These samples b7}?
92 were destroyed when the cold room was c eane out some years ago.
WFO NOTE: enclosed in the FD34O associated with this
communication is the email referenced throughout this report as
well as the USAMRIID floor plans that|:|viewed whereby|:|
identified the location of the flask and its storage in USAMRIID
building |:| ~
Ne Duplieatien Fees are eharged fer Deleted Page Infenatien Sheet s
Tetal Deleted Page{s! ~ 3
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