OCTOBER 24, 2018
Explosive devices were sent to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as to CNN’s offices in New York, sparking an intense investigation on Wednesday into whether a bomber is going after targets that have often been the subject of right-wing ire.
A law enforcement official said the three devices were similar to one found Monday at the home of George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist and liberal donor.
Two explosive devices were found in mail sent to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Secret Service said Wednesday. – Karsten Moran for The New York Times
None of the devices harmed anyone. Law enforcement officials said they were investigating whether all the devices were sent by the same person or persons.
Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama, Mr. Soros and CNN have all figured prominently in conservative political attacks — many of which have been led by President Trump. He has often referred to major news organizations as “the enemy of the people,” and has had a particular animus for CNN.
The device sent to CNN was contained in a manila envelope addressed to John Brennan, who was the C.I.A. director in the Obama administration and is a harsh critic of Mr. Trump. The president revoked Mr. Brennan’s security clearance in what was seen as an act of retribution.
The return address bore the name of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman who formerly headed the Democratic National Committee.
In a statement, the White House condemned “the attempted violent attacks.”
“These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” the statement said. “The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”
The first inkling that there might be a serial bomber came Wednesday morning when the Secret Service revealed that it had “intercepted two suspicious packages addressed to Secret Service protectees,” who were Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama.
CNN’s offices in Manhattan were evacuated after an explosive device was sent there, a law enforcement official said. – Jeenah Moon for NY Times
The device addressed to Mrs. Clinton in Westchester County, north of New York City, was found late on Tuesday by a Secret Service employee who screens mail for her, the statement said. The package addressed to Mr. Obama was intercepted early on Wednesday by Secret Service personnel in Washington.
Shortly after the Secret Service made that announcement, the Time Warner Center, a major office complex in Midtown Manhattan, was evacuated after a similar device was discovered to have been sent to CNN’s offices there.
Breaking: CNN NY office evacuated. Police bomb squad is here. We’re told of explosive device received. @CNNnewsroom
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 24, 2018
A senior law enforcement official in New York, describing the device sent to CNN, said the device intercepted in CNN’s basement mailroom resembled the others: “Same package. Same device.”
That device sent to CNN was constructed from a length of pipe a little longer than six inches and wrapped in black tape with what appeared to be epoxy on the ends, according to a person who has seen a photograph of it. What could be a timer was attached to the side of the pipe and wires were visible at both ends.
The statement from the Secret Service also said: “The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such. The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.”
The agency also said it had “initiated a full scope criminal investigation that will leverage all available federal, state, and local resources to determine the source of the packages and identify those responsible.”
Mr. Soros’s home is in Katonah, a hamlet in Westchester. That device was constructed from a length of pipe about six inches long filled with explosive powder, and it was “proactively detonated” by bomb squad technicians, according to one of the officials, all of whom were briefed on the investigation.
On Tuesday, one of the law enforcement officials said the motive of the would-be Soros bomber or bombers remained unclear, adding that there had not yet been any claim of responsibility.
A federal official said law enforcement agencies were closely examining possible ties between the packages and the one sent to Mr. Soros, who has come under fierce criticism from conservatives and conspiracy theorists. The connection was being “strongly considered,” said the federal law enforcement official, who would only speak on condition of anonymity because the investigations were ongoing.
While the investigation is in its earliest stages, the recovery on Wednesday of three of the devices and the envelopes that contained them could potentially provide federal agents with a trove of leads and evidence. It could allow them to assess the sophistication of, and care taken, by the person or persons who built and mailed the bombs.
Bomb technicians will likely seek to defuse the devices and try to determine where their components were purchased or the bombs were made.
Evidence technicians will try and recover possible traces of DNA and fingerprints from the components and the envelopes that contained the bombs.
Federal agents with the United States Postal Inspection Service will likely play an important role in the investigation, examining the postage and postmarks and any handwriting. Once they determine where they were mailed from, they will examine surveillance video at post offices and around blue letter boxes where the packages may have been deposited.
It is unclear where exactly the package addressed to Mrs. Clinton was sent. A security guard at the Clinton Foundation’s Midtown Manhattan offices said the explosive device was addressed to Mrs. Clinton’s home in Westchester, not her offices.
The news of the devices set off a small wave of false reports. Some media outlets reported that a similar device had been addressed to President Trump at the White House, until the Secret Service debunked the account. An hour or so later, a similar report emerged that a device had been sent to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, but his spokesman, Richard Azzopardi said on Twitter that it was “untrue.”
Early this month, federal authorities said they intercepted multiple packages suspected of containing the lethal substance ricin, addressed to President Trump and at least two top Pentagon officials.
Courtesy/Source: NY times
