EXCLUSIVE: Anthrax Suspect Under Scrutiny Since 2002

August 1, 2008— -- The US army bio-weapons scientist who killed himself this week, Bruce E. Ivins, had been under suspicion by some FBI agents since early 2002 when anthrax spores were found near his desk, but FBI supervisors were more focused then on another scientist, Steven Hatfill, and dismissed concerns about Ivins, federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News.

Instead, Ivins became deeply involved in the FBI anthrax investigation, helping to analyze the anthrax-laden letters sent to members of Congress and participating in strategy meetings about how to find the person responsible.

Ivins took his life earlier this week after, The Los Angeles Times first reported today, his lawyers were told by federal prosecutors that Ivins would soon be charged with the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people and panicked the nation.

The FBI and the Department of Justice have, so far, declined to comment on Ivins or his role in the massive investigation.

"If he in fact was the correct person, he was actually put in charge of analyzing the evidence of his own crime," said ABC News consultant Brad Garrett, a former FBI agent who worked on the anthrax case until his retirement from the bureau last year.

"All of the scientists there who worked with us were supposed to have been investigated and given polygraph tests," Garrett said.

One of Ivins' colleagues confirmed that Ivins had been under suspicion for years and had long ago hired a criminal defense lawyer.

More recently, the FBI carried out search warrants of Ivins' home, office and research space as part of a renewed investigation, according to federal law enforcement sources.

Ivins' attorney, Paul Kemp, released a statement today saying that his client had fully-cooperated with the government's investigation and assisted them in any way he could.

"We assert his innocence in these killings, and would have established that at trial," said Kemp. "The relentless pressure of accusation and innuendo takes its toll in different ways on different people, as has already been seen in this investigation. In Dr. Ivins' case, it led to his untimely death."