New York Times Asks Judge to Dismiss Anthrax Libel Lawsuit

The New York Times has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by a former Army scientist who said the newspaper defamed him in coverage of the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The former bioterrorism expert, Steven J. Hatfill, is suing the Times for libel for a series of articles by columnist Nicholas Kristof on the anthrax mailings that killed five people. Hatfill said details in the columns, which only referred to an individual as “Mr. Z,” provided enough detail for readers to figure out he was the person being discussed.

But in a motion filed Friday, lawyers for the Times asked U.S. District Court Judge Claude M. Hilton in Alexandria to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that Hatfill is a public figure because of his visibility in administering bioterrorism programs. Public figures generally have a higher burden to prove defamation.

The motion argues Hatfill could not prove the newspaper published the columns with “actual malice,” a standard for defaming public figures. It says Kristof knew Hatfill was being investigated but not whether he was responsible for the attacks.

“No evidence indicates that The Times ever intended to imply plaintiff was in fact guilty of the anthrax mailings, and overwhelming evidence exists to the contrary,” the filing said.

Hatfill’s lawyers are expected to file a response this month, and they may argue Hatfill is not a public figure. Hatfill worked at the Army’s infectious disease laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md., in the late 1990s.

E-mail and phone messages seeking comment were left Saturday with Hatfill’s lawyer, Thomas Connolly.

Dozens of exhibits included in the newspaper’s filing made several FBI internal memorandums public for the first time, as well as some e-mails sent to and from Kristof.

Hatfill’s lawsuit was initially dismissed in 2004 by U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton, who ruled that Kristof’s columns were not libelous and were merely an accurate reflection of the status of the FBI’s investigation at the time.

An appeals court reversed that decision, allowing Hatfill to proceed with his lawsuit.