Suspicious packages target country leaders

"Until now, the gears seem to be homemade bombs," NYPD deputy commissioner John Miller said at a news conference held at noon in Manhattan.

The Joint Terrorism Working Group is working with FBI field offices to search for other suspicious packages. The authorities began to monitor the first two arrivals and the New York police was at CNN when the package was discovered.

All identified recipients have been Highly publicized targets of President Donald Trump, leaving all eyes on the president's message at a rally Wednesday night.

Throughout Wednesday, many of the president's critics have blamed his rhetoric, which they say incites violence. Former Obama's political strategist, David Axelrod, asked in a tweet what tone the president was planning to take at a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Wednesday night "considering Serial bombs that have been delivered to many of his favorite verbal targets? "

In the White House, Trump condemned "this blatant conduct" and described it as "abominable for everything we consider dear and sacred as Americans".

He promised to "get to the bottom of things" and punish the culprits.

"The security of the American people is my highest and absolute priority," he said. "The full weight of our government is deployed to conduct this investigation and bring to justice those responsible for these despicable acts, and we will not spare any resources or expense in this effort."

Arizona GOP Senator Jeff Flake, who has been the target of Trump's anger, said the president should stop labeling the media as enemies or verbally reprimanding political opponents.

"Words matter," Flake told CNN. "If he adopted a more civil tone, it would help … We all have to follow the rhetoric we use, people listen to them and follow them … Those of us who hold a position must keep this in mind. the spirit, the stakes are too high right now. "

The types of explosives and packaging will provide a wealth of information to investigators, as well as the fingerprints and DNA left behind by the bomb manufacturers, said Anthony Roman, Roman's president. & Assoc. Inc., Risk Management and Trade Investigation Company, Uniondale, NY

"Scientific scientific capabilities are absolutely magical today," Roman said. "The way bombs are built and the materials used to build them provide a fingerprint and tell a story about the identity of the perpetrators of this crime."

Bomb materials can be found. Manufacturers and distributors could provide information. Video cameras where packages have been posted or delivered can provide images of the culprits, as they did during the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing.

"It is unlikely that this remains unresolved," Roman said.

The secret service said the documents sent to Clinton and Obama had been intercepted by law enforcement officials.

Also on Wednesday, a police anti-bomb squad was sent to CNN offices in New York and the newsroom was evacuated due to a suspicious package. New York police said they included an envelope with white powder in the package.

James O'Neill, Commissioner of the New York Police Department, said the building had been swept by dogs and equipment and that no other threat had been found.

"We will not be intimidated and we will bring these perpetrators to justice," O'Neill said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said there was no other credible threat in the city.

At the same time, the FBI confirmed that another suspicious package had been sent to Wasserman Schultz's office in Sunrise, Florida, the Associated Press reported.

Citing sources of law and order, CNN reported that a suspicious package was also to be handed over to former US Attorney General Eric Holder. He was eventually sent to the Sunrise office in Florida, from Wasserman Schultz, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, as it was the return label on the package. CNN reported.

"We will not be intimidated by this attempt at an act of violence," Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. "This appalling attack on our democracy must be vigorously pursued and I am deeply troubled by the way my name has been used.Today, my staff and I will be hugging each other and those of your family and we will resume tomorrow serving the citizens I have been elected to represent. "

Administration officials said they knew of no threatening packages sent to the White House. They also note that packages destined for the White House must go through an offsite processing center, so that a suspicious package would not reach the building.

The parcel addressed to Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state, was sent home to her in Westchester County, New York, and was discovered Tuesday night. The package sent to Obama was sent to Washington and intercepted Wednesday morning.

The secret services said earlier that they had opened a criminal investigation into these incidents.

"The packages were immediately identified during routine mail check procedures as potentially explosive devices and were handled as such," said the Secret Service in a statement. "The beneficiaries did not receive the parcels and were not likely to receive them."

Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Clinton, tweeted Wednesday morning that no suspicious packages were returned to his home. Clinton was campaigning for the Democrats in Florida and was not at the residence at that time.

"It's a troubling time – it's a time of deep divisions – we have to do everything in our power to bring our country closer," Clinton said Wednesday in an election campaign.

Clinton added that when asked how she was doing, she said, "As a person, I'm great. As an American, I'm worried."

In New York, a police officer was stationed outside the Manhattan building, which houses the George Soros Open Society Foundation, but no evacuation took place on Wednesday morning.

The managers of the New York office building, which houses the Clinton Foundation, have warned tenants of the package sent to Clinton House and have indicated that the office building located at 1633 Broadway had been cleared by the NYPD of any suspicious activity or device.

The White House on Wednesday condemned the attacks.

More: Suspicious packages delivered to Clintons, Obamas, Soros, CNN: what we know up to now

More: An explosive device found in the mailbox of George Soros' home in New York

More: CNN's office evacuates live after a parcel was intercepted at the New York office

"These acts of terrorism are heinous, and all those responsible will be held accountable for the law," said press secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement. "The secret services of the United States and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and taking all appropriate measures to protect those threatened by these cowards."

The packages arrive just weeks after suspicious envelopes were sent to Trump and key military leaders, some of which contained the natural ingredients used to make the deadly poison, ricin. Federal authorities have arrested a veteran of the US Navy in Utah.

Larry Johnson, a 24-year-old secret service agent and now CEO of CyberSponse Inc., said that past presidents' mail is routinely filtered off-site so that explosives and chemical or biological threats can be addressed. 39, an investigation before a package reaches its target. Former presidents receive suspicious mail almost every day, he said.

"I am very surprised that an organization the size of CNN does not control off-site packages," Johnson said.

Having many prestigious recipients in a day suggests that the author could be much bigger than a simple unhappy writer, he said.

"It could be a nation-state, terrorism, organized crime," said Johnson, who worked for presidential protection and headed the secret service's criminal investigation division. "It's connecting the dots."

Several times, under presidential protection, the suspect is a person that law enforcement officials know in previous interactions, Johnson said.

"Often, the person is registered. It's not the first time, "Johnson said. But investigators will work quickly to determine who sent the packages and why, because if they are larger than one person, threat information should be disseminated across the government.

"If it's something that depends on the nation or national security or terrorism, it's much bigger than one organization," said Johnson.

At the Time Warner Center in New York, a police officer with a sniffer dog checked the trees planted in the big planters along the sidewalk on the south side of the street shortly after 11am.

There, more than 200 people stood outside. Some people, a mix of tourists, journalists, and New Yorkers, were curious; others were much more cautious.

"There is always something happening in the city, but it seems a bit more serious than usual," said 23-year-old Jocelyn Hernandez. "It's strange because people are just waiting for something to happen, but the officers seemed very serious about the threat."

Rinchen Tesphal received an alert from CNN and ran outside to see what was going on.

"It's a very sad time when we live with people who attack the media – incidents where people attack journalists – it's really disheartening," said 23-year-old Tesphal.

Dareen Mohamed also received a warning about a bomb threat.

"I think I'm more shocked than I'm afraid," said Mohamed, 18. "You always hear that such things are happening, but you're never there – for once in my life, I'm really on the scene."

Contributor: David Jackson in Washington; Kevin McCoy and Dalvin Brown in New York, Joseph Spector and Jon Campbell in Albany, NY

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