NewsMax Wires
Tuesday, Feb. 03, 2004

A senior government investigator and a senior law enforcement official, both speaking on condition of anonymity, said the powdery substance was found in a mail-sorting area in Frist's office but had not been tied to a specific piece of mail.

Another federal law enforcement official said that no extortion or threat letter was found in the area. Most of the mail in that part of the office came from Frist's home state of Tennessee, the official said.

Field tests confirmed the substance was ricin but more sophisticated tests were being done. Federal law enforcement officials were awaiting the results before taking the investigation to the next step, which would include an intensive forensic analysis of the area where the powder was found.

The aim would be to identify an envelope or package that might have contained the substance and to isolate such things as fingerprints, hair or other evidence.

Under existing procedures, the FBI would be the lead investigative agency in the case, with input from a wide range of others including postal inspectors, Homeland Security Department and Capitol police.

If the substance did arrive via the mail, it would have been irradiated at a facility in New Jersey before it was opened under procedures adopted following the 2001 anthrax attacks on two Senate offices. But since ricin is not a biological agent, it would not be affected by irradiation, officials said.

Two letters laced with anthrax were sent in fall 2001 to the offices of then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Five people died and 17 were sickened in those attacks, which also targeted several media offices.

© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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