Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 10-26-18

White House and Political News
Packages To Biden, De Niro Seized, Similar To Earlier Bombs
WASHINGTON — The mail-bomb scare widened Thursday as law enforcement officials seized three more suspicious packages — two addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden and one to actor Robert De Niro — and said they were similar to crude pipe bombs sent to former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and CNN.
None of the devices ex- ploded, and no one was in- jured. But the packages, sent to prominent Democrats crit- ical of President Donald Trump, heightened nation- wide tensions and fears two weeks before major congres- sional midterm elections.
Even as everyone con- demned the unknown sender and Trump decried political violence, blame flew for the corrosive nature of America’s political conversation.
“A very big part of the Anger we see today in our so- ciety is caused by the pur- posely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News,” Trump said in a morning Tweet. “It has gotten
Members of the New York National Guard, center, watches as commuters walk through the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018, in New York. A series of pipe bombs sent to prominent Democrats including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has deepened political tensions and fears two weeks before national midterm elections.
Biden has also criticized Trump, as recently as last week, saying Trump may not “know what he’s doing” and coddles dictators.
A law enforcement official said the packages addressed to Biden were intercepted at Delaware mail facilities in New Castle and Wilmington and were similar to the oth- ers. The official wasn’t au- thorized to discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Recovery of the packages to Biden and De Niro came after others were received by prominent Democrats and CNN.
The first crude bomb to be discovered had been delivered Monday to the suburban New York compound of George Soros, a liberal billionaire
and major contributor to Democratic causes. Soros has called Trump’s presi- dency “dangerous.”
Similar packages ad- dressed to Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama on their way to Chappaqua, New York, where Clinton lives with for- mer President Bill Clinton and to Washington, where Obama lives with his wife, Michelle. The Secret Service said neither package reached their recipients.
More were sent to frequent Trump critics Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California and former Attorney General Eric Holder. His ended up at the Florida office of Demo- cratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was listed as the return ad- dress.
so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Main- stream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”
Former CIA Director John Brennan, the target of one package sent to CNN where he has been a contributor, fired back.
“Stop blaming others. Look in the mirror,” Brennan tweeted. “Your inflammatory rhetoric, insults, lies, & en- couragement of physical vio- lence are disgraceful. Clean up your act....try to act Presi- dential.”
The politics belied the life- and-death nature of the grow- ing list of bombing targets in New York, Delaware, Wash- ington, D.C., Florida and Cal- ifornia.
Police on Thursday said the package recovered in Manhat- tan addressed to De Niro, who dropped an expletive in- sult at Trump at this year’s Tony Awards, was similar to the other pipe bombs recov- ered this week. De Niro had also apologized to Canadians for the “idiotic behavior of my president.”
PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2018