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Lawyer denies anthrax suspect's guilt

An FBI employee opens the anthrax tainted letter, sent to Sen. Patrick Leahy, on December 6, 2001, at an FBI lab. (UPI/FBI)
An FBI employee opens the anthrax tainted letter, sent to Sen. Patrick Leahy, on December 6, 2001, at an FBI lab. (UPI/FBI) | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Amid leaks involving government scientist Bruce Ivins and the anthrax scare, Ivins' lawyer accuses the FBI of stalking his client and driving him to suicide.

Attorney Paul Kemp told Time magazine Ivins took at least two polygraph tests and he was under the impression his client had passed.

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"That certainly was our impression," he said. "That's certainly what he was told." He added that contrary to media reports, his client wasn't negotiating a plea agreement and an indictment was at least weeks off, not imminent.

The FBI said it used DNA technology to trace anthrax that was mailed seven years ago, killing five people and sickening 17, to the lab where Ivins worked but critics note the government had sent the anthrax letters to that same lab for analysis and that there is no way to link the anthrax to an individual.

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