Suspected explosives sent to Obama, Clinton, CNN
GETTY/AFP/File / SPENCER PLATTFormer president Barack Obama and defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton were targeted with suspected explosive devices sent to their respective homes
Suspected explosive devices were sent to former president Barack Obama, defeated presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and CNN hours apart and less than two weeks before sharply polarizing US elections, officials confirmed Wednesday.
The two Democrats are among the most high-profile political figures in the United States, which goes to the polls on November 6 in elections seen as a referendum on Republican President Donald Trump.
CNN has distinguished itself in the last two years for its aggressive coverage of the Trump administration and robust criticism of the Republican, who succeeded Obama and defeated Clinton in the 2016 election.
The New York Times reported that the packages were similar to an explosive device found at the New York home of billionaire liberal donor George Soros on Monday. In Florida, police were investigating a suspicious package near the office of a Democrat lawmaker, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The White House swiftly condemned what it called "despicable" acts.
AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARYPolice outside the Time Warner Building in New York on October 24, 2018 after it was evacuated following the discovery of a suspected explosive device
"These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," said Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, later adding that Trump and his administration were "monitoring closely."
Trump himself confined his initial comment to retweeting a condemnation from Vice President Mike Pence against the "cowardly" attempted attacks, adding: "I agree wholeheartedly!"
CNN evacuated its New York bureau Wednesday after a suspicious device, which police described as a metal pipe with wires, was found in the mailroom. Bomb squad were on the scene, New York police confirmed.
It was addressed care of CNN to former CIA director John Brennan, who has worked as a television analyst but not for the channel.
- 'Domestic terrorism' -
The Secret Service recovered a package addressed to Clinton in Westchester, a suburb north of Manhattan on Tuesday, where she lives with her husband former president Bill Clinton, and a second package addressed to the Obama residence in Washington on Wednesday.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York police chief James O'Neill were to brief the media at the scene at 12:45 pm (1645 GMT).
GETTY/AFP/File / Drew AngererA suspected explosive device was intercepted in the mailroom of the Time Warner Center in New York, prompting the evacuation of CNN's New York bureau
The Secret Service gave no details about the contents of the packages sent to Clinton and Obama. There has been no claim of responsibility and no one was yet thought to have been arrested.
The Secret Service said the packages were "immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such."
"The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them," it added.
Condemnation from Republican lawmakers followed that of the White House. The suspected explosive devices were sent just over a year after a shooter angry about Trump shot four people at a congressional baseball practice.
"Violence and terror have no place in our politics or anywhere else," tweeted senior Republican lawmaker Steve Scalise, who was shot and seriously injured at the Washington baseball practice in June 2017.
The top Republican lawmaker, Mitch McConnell, condemned what he called "attempted acts of domestic terrorism".
The Secret Service, which provides protection to current and former US presidents -- said it had initiated a "full scope criminal investigation."
- Target for right-wingers -
It was not immediately clear whether Clinton or Obama, who has kept a family base in Washington after leaving office so that his youngest daughter can finish high school, were at home when the packages were found.
AFP/File / STAN HONDAAn explosive device was found in the mail box of billionaire investor George Soros home in Bedford, New York
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force has already been investigating the explosive device targeting Soros, who has become a hate figure for right-wing groups.
Bomb squad technicians defused the device in Bedford, New York, an ultra-wealthy enclave not far from the Clintons' home in Westchester County.
The 88-year-old hedge fund tycoon is one of the world's richest men with an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion and a prominent philanthropist.
Soros supported Clinton, Trump's election rival in 2016, and has been accused by nationalists the world over of sponsoring protests and seeking to push a liberal, multicultural agenda.
His Open Society Foundations on Tuesday condemned the "hateful rhetoric that dominates politics in the United States and so many countries around the world," noting it "breeds extremism and violence.
"In this climate of fear, falsehoods, and rising authoritarianism, just voicing your views can draw death threats," it said.
Earlier this month, Trump accused Soros of paying demonstrators to protest against the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of attempted rape in high school.
Soros has also been falsely accused of funding the caravan of migrants moving north from Honduras through Mexico en route to the US border.
copiado https://www.afp.com/en/news
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário