Explosive Devices Had Odd Return Address

Debbie Wasserman Schultz's name factors in
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 24, 2018 11:56 AM CDT
Updated Oct 24, 2018 2:17 PM CDT
Reports of Suspicious Packages Keep Coming
Officers watch over the scene outside the Time Warner Center on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, in New York. Law enforcement officials say a suspicious package that prompted an evacuation of CNN's offices is believed to contain a pipe bomb.   (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)

First George Soros, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and CNN's NYC headquarters, now Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Maxine Waters. A Democratic aide confirmed to BuzzFeed that a suspicious package intercepted at a Capitol Hill sorting facility was addressed to Waters. The Miami Herald reports Broward County, Florida, police have confirmed a suspicious package arrived at the former Democratic National Committee chair's Sunrise office and is being investigated. But there's a twist:

  • The Washington Post reports the devices sent to Clinton, Soros, and Obama were contained in manila envelopes and featured typed addresses. The law enforcement official it spoke with said the return address bore the name of "a known public official" who was not thought to be involved.
  • In a twist, NBC News spoke with three law enforcement officials who say the return address was Schultz's. Sources who spoke to CNN and the New York Times also said some of the packages had Schultz's name and address on the return label.
  • Now CNN reports the package that arrived at Schultz's office was actually addressed to Eric Holder but featured an incorrect address. As such, it was returned to sender—and the listed sender was Schultz.

  • The package sent to CNN was reportedly sent to the attention of former CIA director John Brennan. CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins tweeted that Brennan isn't employed by CNN, but rather is an MSNBC contributor.
  • The AP spoke with two law enforcement officials who say the package that was addressed to Brennan contained a crude but functional device, and that it seemed similar to those sent to Soros, Clinton, and Obama. The device sent to Soros has been described as a 6-inch pipe bomb. CNN reports it was delivered by courier.
  • Plenty of political figures are speaking out in condemnation. Sarah Sanders called the "terrorizing acts ... despicable" and said the person responsible "will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
  • Vice President Pence tweeted against the "cowardly" and "despicable" acts and said those responsible will be brought to justice; President Trump retweeted it, noting "I agree wholeheartedly!"
  • Trump elaborated during an afternoon event on opioids, saying "acts or threats of political violence have no place in the United States" and that "a major federal investigation" into the "despicable acts" is now underway. The AP notes he called for unity and did not specify any of the intended recipients of the packages by name.
  • The San Diego Union-Tribune reports it and nearby businesses were briefly evacuated after a pile of suspicious-looking packages were noted outside the building Wednesday morning; CNN notes the newspaper's building also houses the field office for Sen. Kamala Harris. But the packages were determined to hold nothing suspicious after about an hour.
  • Similarly, Andrew Cuomo himself said in a news conference that a "device" was sent to his Manhattan office, but the NYPD determined it did not contain a bomb and was not related to the other packages.
(More suspicious package stories.)

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