In today's New York Times International Herald Tribune, Graham Allison, Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, considers the modern “Living in the Era of Megaterror.” In this article Graham falsely claimed that federal employee Bruce Ivins was responsible for the anthrax killings that terrorized the U.S. in 2001.
Today, how many people can a small group of terrorists kill in a single blow? Had Bruce Ivins, the U.S. government microbiologist responsible for the 2001 anthrax attacks, distributed his deadly agent with sprayers he could have purchased off the shelf, tens of thousands of Americans would have died. Had the 2001 “Dragonfire” report that Al Qaeda had a small nuclear weapon (from the former Soviet arsenal) in New York City proved correct, and not a false alarm, detonation of that bomb in Times Square could have incinerated a half million Americans.
The statement I emboldened is false.
Ivins was a key suspect in the FBI's investigation but he was never formally charged and the case was closed without ever presenting evidence or appearing before a judge. There's much published on this case, but for the sake of brevity I'm just quoting from the wiki which is accurate IMO.
Bruce Edwards Ivins (April 22, 1946 – July 29, 2008)[1] was an American microbiologist, vaccinologist,[1] senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland and the key suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks.
Ivins denied the charges.
There were other "key suspects" in the FBI's years long investigation who denied the charges and were harassed before they were proven innocent. Like them, Ivins was under extreme pressure by the agents and press reports.
On Tuesday, July 29, 2008 he died of an overdose of Tylenol in an apparent suicide after learning that criminal charges were likely to be filed against him by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for an alleged criminal connection to the 2001 anthrax attacks.[3][4][5] No formal charges were ever actually filed against him for the crime, and no direct evidence of his involvement has been uncovered.
Ivins might have been involved or may have been used materially, but the investigation was never completed and the case the FBI presented was weakly circumstantial.
On February 19, 2010, the FBI released a 92-page summary of evidence against Ivins and announced that it had concluded its investigation.[9][10] The FBI conclusions have been contested by many, including senior microbiologists, the widow of one of the victims,[11] and several prominent American politicians. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) who was among the targets in the attack, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), former Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ), and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)[6][12][13] all argued that Ivins was not solely responsible for the attacks. While not outright rejecting the theory of Ivins' involvement, Leahy has asserted that "If he is the one who sent the letter, I do not believe in any way, shape or manner that he is the only person involved in this attack on Congress and the American people. I do not believe that at all."
Ultimately, the FBI's case against Ivins was confirmed to lack evidence.
The FBI subsequently requested a panel from the National Academy of Sciences to review its scientific work on the case.[15] On May 15, 2011, the panel released its findings, which "conclude[d] that the bureau overstated the strength of genetic analysis linking the mailed anthrax to a supply kept by Bruce E. Ivins."[16][6] The committee stated that its primary finding was that "It is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the B. anthracis in the mailings based on the available scientific evidence alone."
The New York Times should retract and correct the statement and Ivins' family and readers deserve an apology.