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Copyright 2005 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp.
The Hill
November 9, 2005 Wednesday
SECTION: Pg. Pg. 4
LENGTH: 297 words
HEADLINE: Attack has Grassley concerned for his staff
BYLINE: By Elana Schor
BODY:
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said yesterday that he is concerned about the
safety of all of his staffers in the wake of last week's assault on the
chief investigator for the Senate Finance Committee.
An unidentified man attacked Emilia DiSanto, who has
assisted committee Chairman Grassley on a series of controversial oversight
inquiries in recent months, on the evening of Nov. 2 at her suburban
Virginia home. Investigators have not determined the weapon used in the
assault on DiSanto, but Grassley echoed internal suspicion that her
assailant used a baseball bat.
"If this is work-related, there's a lot of people on my staff who might be
in a dangerous situation," said Grassley, visibly disturbed.
The FBI and Capitol Police are exploring whether the assault is related to
DiSanto's work for Grassley, focusing on the unique circumstances of the
incident. The attacker was dressed in black with a hood obscuring his face
and made no demands for money from DiSanto.
Grassley said a work-related motivation could not be ruled out.
"You just don't know," he said. Federal law enforcement has joined the case
based on concerns that DiSanto's role in Grassley's high-profile
anti-corruption efforts could have put her in physical danger.
Two days after the attack on DiSanto, a bomb threat was issued against a
Marshalltown, Iowa, veterans home hours before a scheduled appearance by
Grassley. Though local police said the senator was not a target of the
threat, which turned out to be a false alarm, the timing of the Iowa and
DiSanto incidents could become a focus of the Washington investigation.
Grassley said the physical welfare of DiSanto and others on his staff is his
chief focus.
"I'm more concerned about that than the bomb threat," he said.
LOAD-DATE: November 11, 2005
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