‘AN ACT OF TERROR’
String of homemade pipe bombs sent to Clinton, Obama, CNN, authorities say
WASHINGTON — Authorities said Wednesday that they had intercepted packages containing homemade explosive devices addressed to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York and former President Barack Obama in Washington, while another bomb was discovered at CNN’s offices in Manhattan.
The string of explosive devices and suspicious packages in Washington, New York and Florida — sent to public officials, former presidents and a cable news network in what politicians called attempted terror attacks — prompted bipartisan condemnation and set off spasms of unease across the country, as security and law enforcement officers rushed to scour incoming mail for other potential undiscovered bombs.
The bombs and suspicious packages were located after an explosive device was found this week in a mailbox at the Bedford, N.Y., home of George Soros, the liberal philanthropist who is a frequent target of criticism from far-right groups.
The devices sent to Clinton and Obama were found during screenings away from their homes and did not make it to them, officials said.
“The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as po-
tential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” the Secret Service said in a statement Wednesday. “The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.”
In New York, what “appeared to be a live explosive device” was located in the CNN mailroom, said James O’Neill, the New York City police commissioner. O’Neill said the device has been removed from the CNN offices. He also said the package contained an envelope with white powder, which investigators took for testing.
CNN’s offices were evacuated for several hours Wednesday before reopening later in the afternoon. The device sent to CNN was addressed to John Brennan, the former CIA director and frequent critic of President Donald Trump, according to a law enforcement official. Brennan is an analyst on MSNBC and NBC News, rather than CNN.
Officials have said the devices sent to Obama, Clinton and CNN appeared to be the work of the same individual.
John Miller, the New York police deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, said his office was notified by the Secret Service that the packages sent to Clinton and Obama were “nearly identical.”
“The devices have been what appear to be pipe bombs,” he said.
Trump on Wednesday decried the bombs, saying that “the packages are being inspected by top explosives experts.”
Trump, pledging that the federal government would investigate and bring those responsible to justice, offered a condemnation of political violence.
“In these times, we have to unify,” he said. “We have to come together and send one very clear, strong and unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America.”
While Trump did not respond to a shouted question about whether the bombs were domestic terrorism — something that is often debated after attempted or successful violent attacks — other officials quickly weighed in on the subject.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., released a statement “condemning today’s attempted acts of domestic terrorism.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio used similar language.
“This clearly is an act of terror, attempting to undermine our free press and leaders of this country through acts of violence,” he said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a possible 2020 presidential candidate and a regular target of Trump’s attacks, tweeted: “Violence against private citizens, public officials and media organizations has no place in our democracy. I am thankful for the bold and swift action of law enforcement to ensure no one was hurt.”
The FBI said all of the packages were sent in manila envelopes with bubble wrap inside. They all had return addresses bearing the misspelled name of Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, along with address labels printed on on a computer and a half-dozen Forever stamps.
The packages sent to Soros, Obama and Clinton were sent to their homes, authorities said.
The FBI also said two other packages were included in the string of suspicious deliveries: The package intended for Brennan and a package sent to former Attorney General Eric Holder, which never reached its final destination, instead returning to the return address in Florida, the FBI said.
Rep. Maxine Waters, DCalif. — a regular target of Trump’s criticism — said she was told by police her “office was the target of a suspicious package” that was intercepted and then referred to the FBI. It was unclear if the package contained an explosive device, and it was not among the packages listed by the FBI in a statement regarding the investigation.
It wasn’t clear, as officials scrambled to prevent possible explosions, how many of the suspicious packages being examined were live bombs or false alarms.
An Obama representative referred questions to the Secret Service. Speaking in Florida on Wednesday, Clinton said her family was “fine, thanks to the men and women of the Secret Service who intercepted the package addressed to us long before it made its way to our home.”
She also spoke to the anger pulsing through American life, continuing: “It is a troubling time, isn’t it? It is a time of deep divisions, and we have to do everything we can to bring our country together.”