U.S. to pay $2.8 million to settle anthrax lawsuit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it would pay former Army scientist Steven Hatfill over $2.8 million to settle his lawsuit accusing officials of violating his privacy rights by talking to the media and unfairly implicating him in anthrax attacks in 2001.

Hatfill, a bioterrorism expert who formerly worked at the Army Medical Institute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick in Maryland, has denied any involvement in the mailings of the anthrax-laced letters that killed five people weeks after the September 11 hijacked plane attacks.

In 2002, federal law enforcement officials, including Attorney General John Ashcroft, called Hatfill a "person of interest" in connection with the investigation into the anthrax attacks. Hatfill then sued various Justice Department officials, including Ashcroft.

"The government has determined that settlement is in the best interests of the United States and has agreed to pay Dr. Hatfill and his attorneys $2.825 million dollars and purchase for Dr. Hatfill an annual annuity of $150,000," said Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.

"By entering into this agreement, the United States does not admit to any violation of the Privacy Act and continues to deny all liability in connection with Dr. Hatfill's claims," he said.

The anthrax attacks remain unsolved and the FBI's investigation continues. "This investigation remains among the department's highest law enforcement priorities," Roehrkasse said.

(Reporting by James Vicini, Editing by Chris Wilson)