Did Bruce Ivins Start Planning Anthrax Attacks Before 9/11?

The first anthrax-laced letter was sent out on Sept. 18, 2001.

And according to the FBI, Dr. Bruce Ivins was probably plotting and preparing his anthrax attacks for several weeks before that — starting back as early as August 2001.

Among the pile of circumstantial evidence that federal agents compiled against Ivins was a log of his frequent night hours in the lab in 2001. (The military lab at Fort Detrick has electronic locks with swipe cards that allow detailed monitoring of people who have access to the stocks of the world’s most dangerous biological agents.)

And the chart the FBI compiled shows that he began spending a lot of extra time in the lab at night in August.

Ivins explained to the FBI that he was having family problems at the time and preferred working late to going home.

On March 31, 2005, Dr. Ivins was asked by Task Force Investigators about his access to [the lab known as] B3 and could provide no legitimate reason for the extended hours other than “home was not good” and he went there “to escape” from his life at home.

Ivins provided that alibi back in March of 2005. The FBI didn’t buy it. Which raises questions about why it took the FBI another two and a half years to ask for a search warrant for Ivins’ home.

For a comprehensive timeline of the whole anthrax investigation, check out Marcy Wheeler’s over here.