The New Anthrax Letter: Why Senator Leahy?

By Andrew Goldstein and Elaine Shannon

Until the end of last week, investigators hunting for the anthrax killer had just three pieces of forensic evidence: the anthrax-tainted letters sent to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, the New York Post and Senator Tom Daschle. The discovery of a fourth letter, this one sent to Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and the probable existence of a fifth, sent to the State Department, could revitalize a case that has seemed in danger of stalling. The Leahy letter was unopened and had yet to be irradiated, which should give epidemiologists the ability to trace the lineage of the spores inside. The postmark, which showed that the letter was sent on Oct. 9, the same day the Daschle letter was mailed, may help postal inspectors locate where the letters were initially dropped off. But most important may be the identity of the target. While Daschle, the Senate majority leader, could have been chosen as a representative of all Democrats or of the entire Senate, Leahy is a less obvious choice, most likely targeted for a specific reason. He is head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is involved in issues ranging from antitrust action to antiterror legislation. Targeting Leahy seems to give more credence to the theory that the anthrax culprit is a domestic terrorist with personal grudges. And given that the FBI believes the killer in all likelihood spoke about his grudges to others, the hope is that someone who recognizes the culprit may soon come forward and crack the case.

--By Andrew Goldstein and Elaine Shannon