The Secret Service said Wednesday that it had intercepted packages containing “potential explosive devices” addressed to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York and former President Barack Obama in Washington.
The devices were recovered not long after an explosive device was found 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 packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential 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.”
CNN also evacuated its New York offices Wednesday after the cable network received a suspicious package that police investigated as an explosive device.
Alarms went off during the network’s morning broadcast, as anchors Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow were reporting on what the Secret Service said were potential explosive devices sent to the homes of Clinton, Obama and Soros. It was unclear if the four packages were linked.
About 200 employees cleared out of CNN’s Manhattan offices on Columbus Circle after the package was discovered in a mailroom.
The network switched its coverage from New York to its Washington studios, but then switched back to Sciutto and Harlow, who reported on the sidewalk outside CNN’s building.
The Secret Service said the package addressed to the Chappaqua, N.Y., home of Clinton and former President Bill Clinton was recovered late Tuesday. The package sent to Obama’s Washington home was intercepted early Wednesday, authorities said. Clinton and Obama representatives were not immediately available for comment.
The devices sent to Clinton and Obama are suspected to be the work of the same person who sent a similar device to Soros earlier this week, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Based on the timing and the material, law enforcement officials suspect the same person is behind all three devices, and officials are scrambling to determine if any other such devices were sent to anyone.
Jeff Zucker, president of CNN, wrote in a letter to employees that the center was “evacuated out of an abundance of caution” after the package was found in the mailroom. The New York police said its officers were “investigating a suspicious package in Columbus Circle,” which is where the Time Warner Center is located.
“We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said in a statement Wednesday morning. “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.”
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, tweeted: “As someone whose family has directly been the victim of these mail threats I condemn whoever did this regardless of party or ideology. This crap has to stop and I hope they end up in jail for a long time.”
A letter was sent to Trump’s home earlier this year that resulted in his wife going to the hospital. A man later pleaded guilty to sending threatening letters with white powder to Trump’s sons and other public figures.
