Mueller Briefs Leahy on Anthrax Probe
A Democratic aide today confirmed that Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and FBI Director Robert Mueller were set to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss the anthrax investigation.
Mueller, who already had been scheduled to travel to Vermont to open an FBI office in the state, will update Leahy on the investigation. According to the aide, they will have a personal sit-down sometime later this afternoon, but it is unclear whether Leahy will release a statement afterward.
The FBI recently concluded that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was responsible for mailing several spores of anthrax substance to Leahys and then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschles (D-S.D.) offices in 2001. The anthrax mailings shut down Congressional offices for weeks and exposed several dozen people on the Hill to the potentially deadly substance.
Several lawmakers are unhappy with the seven-year-old investigation and are calling for a Congressional hearing.