(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced that its case on behalf of the Brentwood postal workers harmed by the October 2001 anthrax attacks, Dena Briscoe, et al. v John E. Potter,et al. (Appeal 04-5447), will be heard Thursday, October 27 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  This is the first of three lawsuits filed by Judicial Watch that will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals over the next week.

Judicial Watch represents 2,300 USPS workers and a USPS workers’ support group, “Brentwood Exposed,” concerning matters related to the October 2001 anthrax attacks.  Two United States Postal Service (USPS) workers, Joseph Curseen, Jr. and Thomas Morris Jr., died from inhalation anthrax they contracted while working with mail in the contaminated Brentwood facility. 

Judicial Watch forced the USPS to provide documents by court order, after the USPS failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.  The documents contained stunning information in a diary/log written by Brentwood Facility Plant Manager Timothy Haney revealing that USPS and U.S. government officials knew on Thursday, October 18, 2001 that “mail was leaking” anthrax spores into the environment of the Brentwood facility and that multiple anthrax spore swab tests “tested hot.”  

Despite this knowledge, USPS and U.S. government officials kept the Brentwood facility open until Sunday, October 21, 2001 – more than three days later – until news broke of the deaths of Mr. Curseen and Mr. Morris.  Unaware that the Brentwood postal facility was contaminated, postal workers were denied the opportunity to protect themselves.  At least three postal workers recovered following diagnosed infection.  Many other Brentwood workers, to this day, are trying to cope with health complications related to anthrax exposure.

“It has been almost exactly four years since the USPS and government officials misled postal workers about anthrax contamination, leading to the deaths of at least two innocent people and to the suffering of many others,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.  “We are very pleased to be able to present this case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and to seek justice for the Brentwood postal workers victimized by government deceit and neglect.”

To learn more about Judicial Watch’s lawsuit on behalf of postal workers exposed to anthrax, visit www.judicialwatch.org

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