By Denise Ross

Former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-SD, has broken a long-running silence on his opinion of the federal investigation into the 2001 anthrax poisonings that struck his Senate office and several other places.

“From the very beginning I’ve had real concerns about the quality of the investigation,” Daschle said in a broadcast interview. “Given the fact that they already paid somebody else $5 million for the mistakes they must have made gives you some indication of the overall caliber and quality of the investigation.”

I recall accompanying Daschle on one of his drive-abouts in 2002 - it was the height of the Thune-Johnson Senate race, and the drums of war sounded on the horizon for Iraq - and somewhere near Kadoka we talked very briefly about the anthrax investigation. It seems it was about the time they had dredged up a pond somewhere near DC.

As I recall, Daschle was reticent to say much, which seems only natural given that the investigation was still relatively young. He said something like, “They say they expect to have more information on this very soon. I have to trust what they’re telling me.”

I did sense some frustration, but I also sensed a bit of hopefulness. I’m guessing the Senate majority leader wasn’t used to not getting information when he wanted it. It would seem now that Daschle feels as though he was strung along, maybe even misinformed, as the investigation drug on.

“I think the American people deserve more of an accounting on this investigation and some appreciation of how to bring this to closure,” Daschle said. “I don’t know anything about the most recent development, and that’s unfortunate. I think all of us, not only those of us directly affected, but all of us need to know more than we do today.”

Neither video nor a transcript is posted from Daschle’s FOX News Sunday is available at the time of this posting. I’ll update once it’s available.

Any defenders of the FBI out there? Were they keeping a lid on the info they’d pieced together knowing they were one day headed for a criminal trial?

Spread the word

Hide Sites