Package bombs set off a no-holds-barred hunt
Obama, Clinton, other Democrats receive explosive devices
NEW YORK – Law enforcement officials were on a feverish hunt for more suspicious packages after the discovery of potentially dangerous deliveries – including pipe bombs – to prominent Democrats across the country, including former President Barack Obama in Washington, Hillary Clinton in suburban New York and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in South Florida.
Packages also were sent Monday night to liberal philanthropist George Soros’ residence in Westchester County, New York, and on Wednesday to CNN of- fices in New York City, authorities said.
ABC reported Wednesday that Capitol Hill police intercepted a package at a Maryland facility that was addressed to California Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters.
The joint terrorism task force is work-
ing with FBI field offices to search for other packages. Authorities began looking after the first two arrived, and New York police were at CNN when that package was discovered.
The FBI has sent the packages to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis. All the packages were mailed in manila envelopes with bubble wrap interior, had computer-printed address labels and six Forever stamps, according to the FBI.
“This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI. We have committed the full strength of the FBI’s resources,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We ask anyone who may have information to contact the FBI. Do not hesitate to call; no piece of information is too small to help us in this investigation.”
All of the package recipients identified have been high-profile targets of President Donald Trump. That drew attention from the president’s critics on social media, including Obama’s former top political strategist David Axelrod, who asked in a tweet what tone the president planned to take “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.”
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.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo initially said a “device” had been found Wednesday morning at his New York City office. That turned out to be a letter and USB flash drive, according to the New York City Police Department. The flash drive included computer files on The Proud Boys, a hate group that was recently in New York City, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.
The types of explosives and packaging will provide a wealth of information for investigators, along with possible fingerprints and DNA left behind by the bombmakers, said Anthony Roman, president of Roman & Assoc. Inc., a risk-management firm in Uniondale, New York.
“The scientific forensic abilities today are absolutely magical,” Roman said. “The way bombs are constructed and the materials used to construct them provide a fingerprint and tell an investigative story about who the perpetrators of this crime are.”
Bomb materials can be traced. Manufacturers and distributors could provide information. Video cameras where the packages were mailed or delivered could provide images of the perpetrators, as they helped do during the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.
“Unlikely this will go unsolved,” Roman said.
A bomb squad was sent to CNN’s offices and the newsroom evacuated when the package was reported. The NYPD said included in the package was an envelope with white powder. NYPD commissioner James O’Neill said the building was swept with dogs and equipment, and no additional threats were found. Mayor Bill de Blasio said there were no other credible threats in the city.
According to CNN, the package sent to its office was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan. Brennan often contributes to CNN but doesn’t work for the company.
Citing law enforcement sources, CNN reported that a package also was supposed to be delivered to former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. It ended up in the Sunrise, Florida, office of Wasserman Schultz, former chair of the Demo- cratic National Committee, because that was the return label, CNN reported. The FBI confirmed that a package was sent to the office, the AP said.
“We will not be intimidated by this attempted act of violence,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement.
Administration officials said they know of no threatening packages sent to the White House. They also note that packages to the White House have to go through an off-site processing center, so a suspicious package would not reach the building.
The package addressed to Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state, was sent to her home in Westchester County and discovered late Tuesday. She was campaigning for Democrats in Florida and wasn’t at the residence at the time. The package sent to Obama was sent to Washington and intercepted Wednesday morning.
The packages come just weeks after suspicious envelopes were sent to Trump and top military leaders, some of which contained the natural ingredients used to make the deadly poison ricin. Federal authorities arrested a U.S. Navy veteran in Utah.
At Time Warner Center in New York, a police officer with a bomb-sniffing dog checked trees set in planter on the street’s southern side shortly after 11 a.m. Well over 200 people stood outside. Some people, a mix of tourists, reporters and residents, were curious; others were more cautious.
“There’s always something going on in the city, but this feels a little more serious than usual,” said Jocelyn Hernandez, 23. “It’s weird because people are just standing around waiting for something to happen.”
“We the rhetoric all need that to watch we use.
People hear them and
then follow it.” Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.