CNN offices in New York evacuated over suspicious package scare

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 who has come under fierce criticism from conservatives and conspiracy theorists.

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.

Clinton, Obama, Soros and CNN have all figured prominently in conservative political attacks — many of which have been led by President Donald Trump. He has often referred to major news organizations as “the enemy of the people,” and has had a particular animus for CNN.

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 Clinton and Obama.

The device addressed to 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 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.

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.”

CNN said the package had been addressed to John Brennan, who was the CIA director in the Obama administration and is a harsh critic of Trump, who revoked Brennan’s security credentials in what was seen as an act of retribution.

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.”

Soros’ home is in Katonah, a hamlet in Westchester. That device was constructed from a length of pipe about 6 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.

Law enforcement agencies were closely examining possible ties between the packages and the one sent to Soros, according to one federal law enforcement official who would only speak on condition of anonymity because the investigations were ongoing. The connection was being “strongly considered,” the official said.

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 U.S. 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 Clinton was sent. A security guard at the Clinton Foundation’s Midtown Manhattan offices said the explosive device was addressed to Clinton’s home in Westchester, not her offices.

The Clintons bought their 11-room Dutch Colonial home in Chappaqua, an affluent Westchester enclave, in 1999 for $1.7 million as Bill Clinton ended his tenure in the White House. The decision to settle in Westchester came as Hillary Clinton was preparing to run for Senate from New York.

Early this month, federal authorities said they intercepted multiple packages suspected of containing the lethal substance ricin, addressed to Trump and at least two top Pentagon officials.