Devices are similar to one found Monday in the mailbox of philanthropist George Soros’s New York home
A frenzied day of bomb squads and federal investigators swarming sites along the East Coast, including CNN’s Manhattan headquarters, began late Tuesday night, when the U.S. Secret Service discovered a suspicious package containing a pipe bomb at the Clinton residence in Westchester County, N.Y.
Officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a photo of one of the packages, saying they were mailed in envelopes with a Bubble Wrap interior. Computer-printed address labels and six U.S. Postal Service stamps, some depicting the U.S. flag, were affixed to the front. All had a return address for “Debbie Wasserman Shultz,” with her last name misspelled.
Investigators believe the packages came from the same individual or individuals, officials said. As of Wednesday evening, law-enforcement officials said they hadn’t identified any suspects. A federal official described all the devices—none of which exploded—as “very similar in style,” potentially effective but “not sophisticated.”
The packages were similar to one found Monday in the mailbox of the Westchester County, N.Y., home of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, a prominent liberal donor, officials said. Authorities detonated that device and the evidence was sent to an FBI laboratory in Virginia, where all the devices are being analyzed.
The string of mail bombs led to tightened security around Washington, D.C., and New York City. It also drew widespread condemnation from both political parties two weeks ahead of the midterm elections.
“The full weight of our government is being conducted to bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice,” said President Trump. Mr. Trump, a Republican, added: “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.”
Members of the New
York Police Department walk outside the Time Warner Center after a
suspicious package was found inside the CNN Headquarters in Manhattan.
Photo:
shannon stapleton/Reuters
The top Democratic leaders in Congress criticized the president’s comments. In a joint statement, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, said Mr. Trump’s words “ring hollow” unless he reverses “his statements that condone acts of violence.”
The Secret Service said it had initiated a criminal investigation into the packages sent to Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, both of whom receive Secret Service protection. Mr. Obama is protected as a former president, and Mrs. Clinton remains under protection as a former first lady.
Bomb Locations
Packages containing explosive devices were sent to several Democratic politicians Wednesday and a liberal donor Monday.
Katonah, N.Y.
Home of George
Soros (Monday)
Chappaqua, N.Y.
Home of Bill and Hillary Clinton
Washington
CONN.
N.J.
Home of former
President Barack
Obama
WESTCHESTER
CO.
Manhattan, N.Y.C.
CNN offices
N.Y.
Sunrise, Fla.
Office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
The FBI said it was working with other law enforcement agencies. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which has technical expertise on such matters, is also part of the investigation as is the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
On Tuesday night, the Secret Service recovered a single package containing an explosive device at a checkpoint outside the Chappaqua, N.Y., home of Bill and Hillary Clinton. The package was addressed to her, according to the Secret Service.
Secret Service agents then discovered another package addressed to Mr. Obama early Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Both packages were identified during mail-screen procedures, and neither reached Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton.
The New York Police Department then warned businesses, urging security and mailroom staff to be on the lookout for suspicious packages, according to a senior law-enforcement official. The NYPD said that the suspicious packages might contain protruding wires, excessive or missing postage stamps, strange odors and oily stains on wrappers.
NYPD officials were in the CNN mailroom in Manhattan’s Time Warner Center advising staff on the warning signs when they found a package addressed to John Brennan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Mr. Obama. The package contained a pipe-bomb and white powder, according to Police Commissioner James O’Neill.
It wasn’t clear why the device found at CNN was addressed to Mr. Brennan.
Mr. Brennan has been a public critic of Mr. Trump. The president has said he is among those he holds responsible for the special counsel investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said at a media briefing that “this clearly is an act of terror attempting to undermine our free press and leaders of this free country through acts of violence.” He said there were no more credible threats, but added the NYPD had increased police presence around the city including at other media outlets.
Wednesday morning, bomb squads were dispatched to the Sunrise, Fla., office of Ms. Wasserman Schultz, a former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. A pipe bomb was found there in a package addressed to former Attorney General Eric Holder, who worked for the Obama administration, the FBI said.
The package didn’t reach its intended address, and was rerouted to Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s office, which was given as the return address, the FBI said.
“I am deeply disturbed by the way my name was used,” Ms. Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. “We will not be intimidated by this attempted act of violence.”
A suspicious package intended for Ms. Waters in Washington was intercepted at a congressional mail facility in Maryland, the lawmaker said Wednesday. The FBI later confirmed it was also investigating a second package addressed to the lawmaker.
Ms. Waters is one of Mr. Trump’s harshest critics on Capitol Hill and has made headlines for calling for the president’s impeachment. Earlier this year, she encouraged her supporters to harass Trump administration officials in response to the policy that led to the separation of children from parents at the border.
—Dan Frosch, Natalie Andrews and Byron Tau contributed to this article.
Write to Zolan Kanno-Youngs at Zolan.Kanno-Youngs@wsj.com
Appeared in the October 25, 2018, print edition as 'Mail Bombs Target Democrats, CNN.'
