Crime | Bruce Ivins FBI Missed Anthrax Clues Investigators were fixated on wrong suspect By Rob Quinn Posted Aug 15, 2008 9:29 AM CDT Copied In this Nov. 13, 2001 file photo, FBI officials wearing protective suits prepare to enter the house of Dr. Irshad Shaikh and his brother, Masood, in Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Dan Loh, File) The FBI's obsessive focus on the wrong anthrax suspect caused the agency to miss some important clues pointing to Bruce Ivins, the Los Angeles Times reports. Records of key-card swipes show that Ivins, who killed himself last month before being charged, spent hours in a "hot suite" with access to anthrax late at night before the 2001 anthrax mailing. A 2002 Army report said Ivins had failed to report spilling anthrax at his work station, but the FBI continued using Ivins to help its investigation even after learning of the suspicious spill— instead focusing for years exclusively on Steven Hatfill, a scientist who never handled anthrax. Some agents formally complained that the concentration on Hatfill meant other areas of the investigation were getting insufficient attention. Read These Next We knew Letterman would pipe up about Colbert eventually. South Park episode on Trump may be a real 'mess' for him. Journal pulls a controversial paper on arsenic after 15 years. Google exposes man's butt, is ordered to pay him $12.5K. Report an error