Bio-terrorist or the next Richard Jewell?

He’s flamboyant and arrogant, and exaggerates his achievements. He served briefly in the white Rhodesian Army fighting against black liberation rebels in the 1970’s. He’s a brilliant but eccentric scientist who’s worked in bioweapons-research laboratories. And of course the FBI super-sleuths says some dogs became agitated and bounded up to him.

He may be an odd duck scientist, an arrogant asshole, perhaps even a vile racist. But does that make him more likely to be the murderous bio-terrorist the FBI is hunting? Or is the FBI merely engaging in common sense “profiling”? If so, how far do they reasonably pursue the case before giving up and exonerating Dr. Hatfill?

The bottom line is that after months of careful investigation, during which officials say that Hatfill has been very helpful and cooperative, the FBI has found zero physical evidence linking Hatfill to the crime. This is despite the fact that even a highly trained scientist would have had a difficult time preparing and sending the finely produced, “aerosolized” powder anthrax without getting it all over himself and his surroundings. (Anthrax researchers describe how the finely milled powder simply floats off glass slides before they can get it under the microscope. Getting the stuff into an envelope—and not everywhere else—would have required enormous skill, and sophisticated laboratory equipment.)