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US bomb campaign: Secret Service intercepted ‘explosive devices’ sent to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, CNN

A suspicious package addressed to Robert De Niro has been located at his restaurant Tribeca Grill in New York City.

17 min read
2:14AMOctober 25, 2018.
Updated 11:10PMOctober 25, 2018
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Explosive devices mailed to Obama and Clinton

Crude pipe bombs targeting Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, CNN and Robert De Niro have been intercepted in a rash of attacks aimed at prominent Democrats and a cable news network often criticised by political conservatives.

10.58pm: Delaware post office evacuated

Fox News is reporting a Delaware post office has been evacuated by the FBI.

It’s believed a package has been discovered addressed to Joe Biden, similar to the ones sent to other Democrats. This would be the ninth suspicious package in the bomb plot.

10.15pm: More details emerge

Police in New York City have removed a suspicious package sent to a building owned by actor Robert De Niro.

The package was sent to a Greenwich Street address in the Tribeca area owned by the Oscar-winning actor, adding to the pattern of explosive devices discovered on Wednesday at CNN and others sent to the homes of former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CNN.

US actor Robert De Niro. Picture: AFP
US actor Robert De Niro. Picture: AFP

Police removed the package sent to De Niro before sunrise, according to local media reports.

De Niro has been a prominent critic of President Donald Trump.

The actor made headlines by yelling “F*** Trump” in June during the live Tony Awards telecast.

9.30pm : De Niro targeted in bomb plot

A package addressed to Robert De Niro has been located at his restaurant Tribecca Grill in New York City.

Law enforcement officials say this is similar to the packages sent to top Democrats overnight.

1.00pm: Two packages sent to Waters

The FBI has confirmed two suspicious packages were sent to Maxine Waters, which were similar in appearance to the pipe bomb devices sent to other prominent Democrats.

12.25pm: Bombs ‘packed with glass’

The pipe bombs were packed with shards of glass, an official has told AP.

11.50am: Devices ‘likely held shrapnel’

Officials are trying to track down a device sent to former Vice President Joe Biden, CNN reports. It’s not yet known whether the device was similar to the other pipe bombs sent to leading Democrats and to CNN. Meanwhile, officials confirm the devices found so far all have matching features. NBc reports they were all made from PVC pipe with a digital timer attached to set off the detonator. X-rays also showed there were probably pieces of shrapnel inside the pipes. Bomb technicians confirmed the devices had all the necessary components to set off a successful explosion.

11.36am: LA device addressed to Waters

AP is reporting the package found at the LA mail facility was addressed to Democrat congresswoman Maxine Waters.

11.32am: Device found in LA

The Los Angeles police say they are investigating a suspicious package at the LA Central Mail facility, which is being evacuated.

11.30am: ‘Media has a role to play’

Donald Trump has refused to accept any responsibility for the hostility in the US that is the background to the bombing campaign.

At a rally in Wisconsin, Mr Trump condemned the person or group responsible for the campaign but did not speak directly to any of the targets. Instead, he told the rally: “The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and, often times, false attacks”

11.10am: ‘Don’t automatically blame Trump’

Democrats are placing the blame for the parcel bomber at the feet of Donald Trump but we should be wary of a sweeping “I told you so’’

Read Cameron Stewart’s comment here.

11.00am: ’Hope this is turning point’

Former CIA Director John Brennan says he may have been targeted because he’s a strong Trump administration critic.

Speaking at an Austin event this morning (AEDT), Mr Brennan said he’d “been contacted by folks in the security realm” who are investigating the explosives, but didn’t elaborate.

“If I and others are being targeted because we’re speaking out, it’s a very unfortunate turn of events,” he said.

He added: “Donald Trump too often has helped to incite these acts of violence” but “I’m hoping that maybe this is a turning point.”

9.15am: Police confirm package at mail screening office

US Capitol Police are confirming they are investigating a suspicious package found at a facility that screens congressional mail before it arrives on Capitol Hill.

The statement comes after Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters said her Washington office was the target of a suspicious package. It was not immediately clear if that package was related to explosive devices sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and others.

Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki did not describe the device. She said it was removed from the offsite facility and it is now being investigated by Capitol Police and the FBI.

8.35am: How investigators will track clues

Investigators examining the explosive devices sent to high-profile targets in Washington and New York are confident the bomb makers will have left glaring clues behind.

Larry Johnson, former head of criminal investigations for the US Secret Service who also served as a special agent in charge of the presidential protective detail, said it was highly likely that the person or people who built the bombs have been previously flagged by law enforcement.

The Secret Service maintains an extensive database of individuals and groups who have made past threats against presidents or other top political leaders, either through letters, emails or on social media.

“A good percentage of the time, this is not the first time whoever is responsible for this will have stuck their neck out,” Mr Johnson said. “Those looking to do revenge or harm to someone, it doesn’t just come to them one day.”

Targets so fare are: (Clockwise rom top left): Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, philanthropist George Soros, Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz,, former CIA director John Brennan and California Democratic Representative Maxine Waters. Picture: AFP.
Targets so fare are: (Clockwise rom top left): Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, philanthropist George Soros, Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz,, former CIA director John Brennan and California Democratic Representative Maxine Waters. Picture: AFP.

Among the first steps for investigators will be retracing the path of the packages through the postal system or courier service used to deliver them. The US Postal Service operates a sophisticated imaging system that photographs the outside of each piece of mail processed across the country and can be used to determine the specific location of where it was sent. This is how federal officials were led to a woman who sent the poison ricin through the mail to Barack Obama and then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2013. The envelopes and packaging materials themselves will also be closely scrutinised.

“It will be a treasure trove of forensic evidence,” said Anthony Roman, a private security and investigations consultant.

“As human beings, we are filtering off our DNA everywhere we walk, everywhere we sit.” Even the most careful bomber is likely to leave behind genetic material that could be used to identify them, especially traces of sweat, saliva or skin cells. There may also be fingerprints or hair.

Police officers gather outside of the Time Warner Centre in New York. Picture: Getty Images.
Police officers gather outside of the Time Warner Centre in New York. Picture: Getty Images.

Roman said investigators will also be collecting all available video camera footage taken from where the packages were mailed and delivered, as well as interviewing any potential witnesses in the area.

Because the devices were intercepted before they exploded, forensics experts will be able to carefully disassemble the devices and examine the components. They’ll examine the wiring, the initiating system, any timing device. If it was a pipe bomb, authorities will seek to identify what type of pipe. The design of the bomb will be compared to other explosive devices recovered in the past.

Adam Hall, director of the Core Mass Spectrometry Facility at the Barnett Institute of Chemical and Biological Analysis at Northeastern University, said most devices are made from easily available materials regardless of what specific type of device it is.

“Your typical pipe bomb, it’s not very sophisticated,” said Mr Hall. “A lot of the directions for this are available on the internet. ... This is not something that would require days or weeks of planning in order to execute.”

There are likely innumerable telltale signs that could help authorities track down how and where it was made, said Jimmie Oxley, the co-director of the University of Rhode Island’s Center of Excellence in Explosives, Detection, Mitigation, and Response.

Some explosives can be homemade, which will make them more difficult to trace. But other materials must be purchased and can help narrow down where and how a device was made. Smokeless powder, for example, is virtually guaranteed to have been purchased. Black powder can be commercial grade or homemade, but it’s easy to discern which is which.

“It’s not an insurmountable task,” Mr Oxley said. “There’s a ton of evidence out there. Unless this is a really, really smart person, they will find out who did this.”

8.00am: Di Natale blames Trump

Greens leader Richard di Natale has also blamed Donald Trump for instigating the attacks.

“This is what happens when you have a political leader that incites hatred, division and violence in the community,” he told Sky News this morning.

7.50am: FBI’s latest statement

In a new statement, the FBI has confirmed all the packages were placed in manilla envelopes with bubble wrap interior. All had a return address of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

The packagfes have been sent for analysis to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

The FBI also warned the additional packages may have been sent to other locations.

7.30am: What we know: latest

Who was targeted?

• The first bomb was discovered on Tuesday (local time) in a mailbox at the New York home of billionaire financier and Democratic Party supporter George Soros.

• On Wednesday (this morning AEDT), explosive devices were addressed to the New York residence of Hillary Clinton; the Washington residence of Barack Obama; California Democratic Representative Maxine Waters; and John Brennan, Obama’s CIA director, sent via the New York offices of CNN, where Mr Brennan is a regular contributor.

• Explosive devices were also sent to Eric Holder, the attorney general under Mr Obama; this device was sent to Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz as she was named as the return addressee.

• A device was also sent to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo but this was later confirmed not to be explosive.

What was in the packages?

• The packages reportedly contained small, crude but potentially lethal pipe bombs: usually a metal water pipe filled with explosive material and shrapnel, tightly sealed at the ends and detonated by a fuse inserted through a hole.

• New York police commissioner James O’Neill described the one sent to Mr Brennan at CNN as a appearing to be a “live explosive device.” Mr O’Neill said that package also contained an envelope of an unidentified white powder.

• In the case of Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama, the US Secret Service said it identified the suspect packages during routine mail screening procedures it provides the former politicians in facilities separate from their homes.

• The packages “were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” the Secret Service said.

The addressees “did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them,” it said.

• In the case of the package to Mr Holder, it never reached his Washington office because the address was apparently erroneous. Instead, it was sent to the return address used on at least two of the packages: the Florida office Ms Wasserman Schultz.

What ties the targets together?

• The targets are all Democrats frequently attacked by Mr Trump online and in speeches as he defends his 2016 election victory and policies he has implemented since coming to office in January 2017.

• Mr Obama preceded him in the White House and Mrs Clinton was his 2016 election rival. Mr Holder was attorney general in the last years of the Obama administration. Mr Trump has labelled CNN the leading purveyor of “fake news” against him, and Mr Brennan is perhaps his most damaging critic from the national security community. Mr Trump often ridicules Ms Waters, a senior Democrat, as “low IQ” and has regularly attacked Ms Wasserman Schultz, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

7.15am: Top Democrats blame Trump

Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have also laid the blame at Donald Trump’s door, saying his condemnation of the attacks “ ring hollow until he reverses his statements that condone acts of violence,” and his referring to the media as “the enemy of the people.”

7.12am: CNN blames White House

CNN President Jeff Zucker has blamed the White House for instigating the attacks by its hostility to the media. In a statement, Mr Zucker said: “There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the WhiteHouse about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media. The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.”

7.05am: Possible new device

CNN is reporting that a Florida polic are investigating a new suspicious package has been sent to Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Earlier a bomb addressed to former Attorney-General Eric Holder was delived to Ms Schultz’s address as she was named as the return addressee.

Firefighters arrive near the offices of Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz after a suspicious package was found.Picture: AFP
Firefighters arrive near the offices of Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz after a suspicious package was found.Picture: AFP

7.00am: Trump children join condemnation

Donald Trump’s children have echoed his condemnation of the attacks. Donald Trump Jr, the president’s son who has been a major success on the mid-term elections campaign trail, 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.”

Ivanka Trump, a White House senior adviser, tweeted: “I strongly condemn the attempted acts of violence against President Obama, the Clinton family, @CNN & others. There is no excuse — America is better than this. Gratitude to the @SecretService and law enforcement for all they do to keep this nation safe.”

Other senior Republicans have joined in the condemnation of the attempted attacks. Marco Rubio tweeted: “An attack on an American who happens to be a Democrat, Republican or Independent is an attack on America”.

6.40am: Time Warner building reopened

The Time Warner Centre in New york, which houes CNN, has reopened and staff are being allowed back in.

6.33am: Melania slams ‘cowardly’ campaign

First Lady Melania Trump has also condemned the devices, describing the campaign as “cowardly.” “I strongly condemn all who choose violence,” she told an event at The White House.

6.30am: Devices ‘work of single person or group’

The working theory of investigators is that the devices were sent by a single person or a single group, Fox News is reporting. John Miller, the New York police deputy commissioner, said his office was notified by the Secret Service that the packages sent to Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama were “nearly identical.”

6.20am: Package couriered to CNN

The packages sent to CNN’s offices were delivered by courier, although it also had first class stamps on it, the Wall St Journal is reoprting. The bomb sent to Mr Soros’ home was also dropped off in his mailbox, but it isn’t clear how the other devices were delivered.

6.17am: Trump tweets again

Donald Trump has tweeted his comments at the rally, saying: “The safety of the American People is my highest priority.”

6.15am: ‘Political violence has no place here’

Donald Trump has called for unity as the US reels over the bomb campaign, saying acts of political violence have “no place” in the United States.

Mr Trump’s comments at a White House event on opioid addiction was his first substantive reaction to the rash of bomb alerts, which also targeted his former Democratic rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton.

Earlier, he had retweeted a tweet by Vice-President Mike Pence, adding “I agree wholeheartedly.”

“I want to say, at these times we have to unify and send one very clear and strong message that acts of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America,” he said at the event.

“This egregious conduct is abhorrent.

“That’s a very bipartisan statement,” he added.

6.05am: Maxine Waters targeted

Another device sent to the office of Democrat Maxine Waters of California, has been intercepted at a mail facility. Ms Waters has been a frequent target of the president in recent months.

5.55am: What we know so far:

• The bomb campaign started on Monday with a device sent to the office of liberal billionnaire George Soros.

• Six devices, described as rudimentary pipe bombs, so far have been delivered, including to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the offices of CNN. The package sent to the CNN offices was addressed to John Brennan, former director of the CIA and a vocal critic of Donald Trump.

• Mr Obama’s attorney general Eric Holder and Democrat Maxine Waters have also been targeted. The device addressed to Mr Holder was delivered to the home of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, as she was named as the return addressee.

• A device sent to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was not an explosive.

• Donald Trump has condemned the campaign as “abhorrent”.

5.50am: Campaign started on Monday

The bomb campaign started on Monday night, with a a device sent to George Soros, NYPD’s chief of counter-terrorism has confirmed. John Miller also said the explosive device sent to CNN’s headquarters in New York appeared to be sent by the same person who mailed pipe bombs to Mr Soros, Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama. Mr Miller and FBI officials said at a news conference the devices all appeared to be crude pipe bombs. .

5.32am: We’re angry: Trump

Donald Trump has spoken about the incident, telling a rally: “We are extremel,y angry, upset, unhappy about what we witnessed this morning and we will get to the bottom of it.

“This egregious conduct is abhorrent to everything we hold dear and sacred as Americans,”he said.

Police and firefighters arrive outside the offices of Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz after a suspicious package was found. Picture: AFP.
Police and firefighters arrive outside the offices of Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz after a suspicious package was found. Picture: AFP.

5.30am: Cuomo device no bomb

The device sent to Andrew Cuomo’s office was not a bomb and is unrelated to the other devices, according to the NYPD.

4.42am: First image of pipe bomb

This is the suspicious package received this morning at the Time Warner Centre, which houses the CNN New York bureau. The CNN package was addressed to John Brennan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Mr Obama. Mr. Brennan has been a public critic of President Trump and Mr Trump has said he is among those he holds responsible for the special counsel investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“We would not be at all surprised if more devices show up,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, at a midday media briefing. “There is a pattern.” A federal official described all the devices as “very similar in style,” “legitimate” but “not sophisticated.”

CNN pipe bomb - first pics
CNN pipe bomb - first pics

4.28am: Five pipe bombs so far

At last count, five confirmed pipe bombs have been mailed to offices or residences in Washington and New York.

NYPD officers at the Time Warner Center area. Picture: AP
NYPD officers at the Time Warner Center area. Picture: AP

4.01am: America is in a troubling time: Clinton

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says America is in “a troubling time” and appealed for national unity after she was among a number of high-profile Democrats targeted in bomb threats.

“We are fine, thanks to the men and women of the Secret Service who intercepted the package addressed to us long before it made its way to our home,” she said.

“But it is a troubling time, isn’t it? And it’s a time of deep divisions, and we have to do everything we can to bring our country together.”

3.57am: CNN sent white powder, Cuomo sent device

New York City’s police commissioner says a package sent to CNN’s offices in New York contained what appeared to be a live explosive and an envelope containing white powder.

At a briefing near Manhattan’s Time Warner Center, Commissioner James O’Neill pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The police department’s top counterterrorism official, John Miller, said the substance was being tested to see if it is dangerous.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at the briefing that “we will not allow these terrorist thugs to change the way we live our lives.” He also confirmed his office had also been sent a suspicious device.

AP

3.48am: Eric Holder was sent a package

A suspicious package was sent to former US Attorney General Eric Holder, but it had the wrong address.

It was then sent to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s office in Florida because that was the return address on the parcel.

Law enforcement officials say Wasserman Schultz’s office was the return address on the packages sent to Clinton and Obama as well.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz in 2016. Picture: AFP
Debbie Wasserman Schultz in 2016. Picture: AFP

3.43am: The city watches the chaos unfold

3.41am: “These are acts of domestic terrorism”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the targeting of US Democratic politicians Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama with potential explosives amounted to acts of “domestic terrorism.” “I stand with all Americans in condemning today’s attempted acts of domestic terrorism,” the Republican McConnell said in a statement.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, also condemned the sending of the suspicious packages just 13 days before crucial midterm elections, saying “we cannot tolerate any attempt to terrorise public figures.”

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Cameron Stewart 3.34am: Same person believed to be responsible, says Secret Service

The secret service said the timing and manner of the devices - which contained a pipe and wire - led them to believe the same person was responsible.

“The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” the Secret Service said. “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.”

3.26am: Trump tweets

President Donald Trump is echoing his vice president’s condemnation of explosives sent to the homes of Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama.

Trump retweeted a message from Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday, adding that he “agreed wholeheartedly”.

3.23am: Another news outlet targeted?

3.08am: Suspicious device taken away

The suspicious device sent to CNN’s New York office has been removed and is being transported in a bomb-proof truck to an NYPD facility in the Bronx, CNN reports. NYPD is sweeping the building.

An NYPD bomb squad vehicle departs an area outside Time Warner Center. Picture: AP
An NYPD bomb squad vehicle departs an area outside Time Warner Center. Picture: AP

3.00am: Briefing expected soon

There will be an NYPD news conference on the suspicious package discovered at Time Warner centre shortly. Law enforcement officers have said all these devices “look like functional bombs”.

CNN reported the package that arrived in their mail room was specifically addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump.

CNN reporters broadcasted from the street outside their bureau in a bustling part of Midtown near Central Park, saying they heard the fire alarm and the lights went off, before they walked down the stairs.

An official said investigators believe the explosive that was discovered near the Clintons’ home in Chappaqua, New York, is linked to one found Monday at the compound of liberal billionaire George Soros.

The official wasn’t authorised to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said one of the packages had the return address of Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, an ironic reference to the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

The package addressed to Obama was intercepted Wednesday by Secret Service agents in Washington.

Neither Clinton nor Obama received the packages, and neither was at risk of receiving them because of screening procedures, the Secret Service said in a statement.

The White House condemned “the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures.”

“These terrorising acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that that referred to the senders as “these cowards.”

Hillary Clinton was attending campaign events for Democrats in Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday and was not at the family’s New York residence at the time. She is headlining a fundraising reception on Wednesday for former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who is running for Congress in South Florida.

Bill Clinton was at the family’s Chappaqua home at the time the package was intercepted at a Westchester County facility, said a person familiar with his schedule.

The person said the device was screened at the facility - not in proximity to their residence - and never reached the Clintons’ home.

A law enforcement official said the package discovered at Soros’ home appeared to be a pipe bomb and was in a package placed in a mailbox outside the gates of the compound.

A Soros employee opened it just inside the gates, not near Soros’ quarters, the official said.

More Coverage

Obama, Clintons, CNN targeted
Cameron Stewart
Don’t instantly blame Trump
Cameron Stewart

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/bomb-sent-to-hillary-and-bill-clintons-suburban-new-york-home/news-story/b6fa25fbf0d8fc3bca05fd0aa847d28b