Letter sent to senator examined for anthrax; FBI renews appeal

WASHINGTON -- Authorities closed two Senate office buildings Saturday and awaited test results from a letter suspected of containing anthrax that was sent to a senator.

The discovery jolted Congress again just as threat from the deadly bacteria had seemed to recede. "It's kind of chilling when you see your name on something like this," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, to whom the letter was addressed.

The FBI renewed its appeal for help in finding whoever is responsible for sending anthrax through the mail. Four people -- two postal workers in Washington, D.C., a New York City hospital worker and a Florida photo editor -- have died from exposure to anthrax.

"This is a cold-blooded murderer," said Van Harp, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office. The bureau is offering a $1.2 million reward.

The unopened envelope sent to Leahy, D-Vt., resembled the letter mailed last month to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. The Leahy letter was discovered in the 280 barrels of congressional mail quarantined after a Daschle employee opened a powder-filled envelope Oct. 15.

The Leahy letter was sealed and sent to the Army installation at Fort Detrick, Md., for tests. It was not known when results would be available.

"At this juncture we do not know that it's anthrax," Harp said at a news conference with Leahy.

The senator's chief of staff, Luke Albee, said it was not known whether the letter reached Leahy's office or whether any Leahy employee had touched it.

The letter led to a renewed shutdown of the Russell and Dirksen Senate office buildings for tests to determine if anthrax spores were present.

Everything on the envelope except the name and address was similar to the Daschle letter: the block printing with a slight slant to the right; the Oct. 9 postmark from Trenton, N.J.; the same, nonexistent school listed as the return address.