USA TODAY International Edition
No holds barred in package bomb investigation
Clinton, Obama among Democrats getting explosives
NEW YORK – Authorities were investigating two additional suspicious packages Wednesday evening after an all-day effort that led to the discovery of devices – including pipe bombs – sent to prominent Democrats across the country, including former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The latest discovery Wednesday evening was a package believed to have been addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden. Reuters and CNN reported federal authorities were searching for the package, which was returned to sender. It was
“The safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority.” President Donald Trump
considered suspicious due to the similarities to other packages discovered.
Another package was being investigated in Los Angeles after discovered Wednesday evening, though it’s unclear if it’s tied to the batch of others.
The Los Angeles Police Department posted on Twitter that the package was discovered at the Los Angeles Central Mail facility near downtown.
“We are working closely with our federal law enforcement partners given the number of suspicious devices discovered across the nation,” the department tweeted.
The FBI said agents have intercepted two packages addressed to Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
The packages are the latest in a seemingly coordinated coast-to-coast attack on prominent liberals. Throughout the day Wednesday, packages were discovered in Washington, New York and Florida.
CNN’s offices in midtown Manhattan were evacuated after a package addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, a frequent commentator on the network, contained a pipe bomb and an envelope with white powder inside.
Those sent packages included: Obama in Washington, Clinton in suburban New York, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in South Florida, the Westchester County, New York, residence of philanthropist and Democratic donor George Soros, along with CNN and the two addressed to Waters.
The FBI said Wednesday afternoon the five original packages were mailed in manila envelopes with bubble wrap interior.
“The packages were affixed with computer-printed address labels and six Forever stamps. All packages had a return address of “DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ” (sic) in Florida,” the agency said.
“So far, the devices have been what appear to be pipe bombs,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller said in a mid-day news conference Wednesday.
The joint terrorism task force is working with FBI field offices to search for other suspicious packages.
All of the recipients identified have been high-profile targets of President Donald Trump.
Throughout Wednesday, many of the president’s critics placed blame on his rhetoric, which they say incites violence. Obama’s former top political strategist David Axelrod asked in a tweet what tone the president planned to take at a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, Wednesday night “given the serial bombs that were delivered to several of his favorite verbal targets?”
At the White House, Trump condemned “this egregious conduct” and called it “abhorrent to everything we hold dear and sacred as Americans.”
He promised to “get to the bottom of this” and punish the perpetrators.
“The safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority,” he said. “The full weight of our government is being deployed to conduct this investigation and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice. We will spare no resources or expense in this effort.”
Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake, who has been a target of Trump’s ire, said the president should stop labeling the media as the “enemy” or verbally castigating political opponents.
“Words matter,” Flake told CNN. “If he were to take a more civil tone, it would help. … We all need to watch the rhetoric that we use. People hear them and then follow it . ... Those of us in office need to keep that in mind. The stakes are too high right now.”
The Secret Service said packages addressed to Clinton and Obama were intercepted by law enforcement officials.
Citing law enforcement sources, CNN reported a suspicious package also was supposed to be delivered to former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. It ended up being sent to the Sunrise, Florida, office of Wasserman Schultz, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, because that was the return label on the package, CNN reported.
“We will not be intimidated by this attempted act of violence,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. “This appalling attack on our democracy must be vigorously prosecuted, and I am deeply disturbed by the way my name was used.
“If (President Trump) were to take a more civil tone, it would help. … We all need to watch the rhetoric that we use. People hear them and then follow it.” Sen. Sen. Jeff Jeff Flake, Flake, R-Ariz. R-Ariz.
Contributing: David Jackson in Washington; Kevin McCoy and Dalvin Brown in New York, Joseph Spector and Jon Campbell in Albany, N.Y.