Suspicious Packages Sent To Hillary Clinton And Barack Obama
UPDATE: A source familiar with the situation in Washington D.C. has told Reuters that no suspicious package was sent to the White House. It was previously thought that a parcel had been intercepted at Joint Base Bolling that was meant for the president’s office.
Law enforcement officials have revealed that late on Tuesday a suspicious package was identified close to the Chappaqua home of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Another similar parcel was also identified in the mail sent to former President Barrack Obama’s home in Washington D.C. on Wednesday morning, per NBC 4.
Authorities have voiced their concerns about the similarities of the package to the bomb that was sent to billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who lives in the same county, on Monday.
The Secret Service was able to intercept both packages before they reached their intended targets. Clinton’s parcel was intercepted by a Secret Service employee who screens all her mail, while another employee in Washington found the package addressed to Obama.
A statement was issued by the agency regarding the incidents.
“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.”
They added that Secret Service has “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.”
NEW reports coming in…
The U.S. Secret Service says agents have intercepted packages containing "possible explosive devices" addressed to former President Barack Obama.
This follows an earlier report of devices sent to the Clintons. pic.twitter.com/SzHMZIyBbr
— Kelly Anne Beile (@KellyAnneTV) October 24, 2018
The White House has issued a statement regarding the devices sent to Clinton and Obama.
“We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures. These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. 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.”
In Soros’ case, the package did make it to his home, but an employee who noticed the package took it away to a wooded area and called the police to investigate. Police called on the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives, who identified a device that contained “explosive white powder.” It was detonated as a precaution.
It is strongly suspected that the attempted attack on Soros is connected to the devices sent to Clinton and Obama.
Law enforcement has described the devices as “rudimentary but functional.”
Meanwhile, another suspicious package has forced the evacuation of the Time Warner Center in New York City, where CNN has offices.
Although no source for the parcels has been confirmed as yet, at least two of the packages listed the return address as that of former Democratic National Committee chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and the signatures on all three parcels are similar to one another. Investigators are currently reviewing surveillance footage in an effort to determine whether the packages were sent through the mail or another means.
