Dubious American physician, virologist and bio-weapons expert Steven Hatfill, whose name was caught up in the terrorism-related paranoia in 2002, has lost his suit against the New York Times. The newspaper published a series of columns by Nicholas Kristof in 2002 which he said implicated him in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The Justice Department released a statement in late June in which it said Steven Hatfill will receive a one-time payment of $2.825 million and, beginning 2009, a $150,000 annuity for 20 years. Hatfill did some illegal stuff, such as forging his PhD diploma and embellishing other (most) parts of his resume, but it appears that he had nothing to do with the anthrax attacks of 2001.

A three-judge panel of the Richmond-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit sided unanimously with the New York Times and said that the newspaper did not act with malice, also approving an earlier classification of the bio-weapons expert as a public figure.

The US Supreme Court ruled back in 1964 that a so-called public figure must demonstrate that a news media outlet acted with malice in defaming them, setting higher standards than for regular people. Indeed, Steven Hatfill apparently “voluntarily thrust himself into the debate” by granting several interviews about the nation’s preparedness to deal with events like the anthrax mailings.

The government, looking for a scapegoat while under tremendous pressure following the 9/11 attacks, has named Steven Hatfill "person of interest" in the anthrax attacks which led to the deaths of five people. Nearly seven years after the toxic letters were mailed, the case is still unsolved. A teary Hatfill denied in August 2002 any connection with the terrorist attacks and blasted the government for leaking information about the government's investigation against him, which ruined his reputation.