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President Trump Condemns Explosive Packages

Posted at 1:05 PM, Oct 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-24 13:05:43-04

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on possible explosive devices sent to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (all times local):

12:50 p.m.

In Florida, the Broward Sheriff’s Office is using a bomb squad robot in the investigation of a suspicious package at the office of Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

Police are also investigating the suspicious package near Wasserman Schultz’s office on the Sawgrass Corporate Parkway in Sunrise, which is near Fort Lauderdale.

The congresswoman was in Coral Gables, along with Hillary Clinton, at a campaign event for Donna Shalala on Wednesday morning.

Miami FBI spokesman Mike Leverock says the agency is aware that a suspicious package was mailed to Wasserman Schultz’ office in Sunrise and agents are on the scene.

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12:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump is echoing his vice president’s condemnation of explosives sent to the homes of Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama.

Trump retweeted a message from Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday, adding “I agree wholeheartedly!” In his tweet, Pence condemned “attempted attacks against fmr Pres Obama, the Clintons, @CNN & others.”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted that Trump and his administration were monitoring the situation, adding that their condemnation “certainly includes threats made to CNN as well as current or former public servants.”

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12:01 p.m.

House Republican leaders say that the person or people who sent explosives to the homes of Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama should be brought to justice.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said they were “reprehensible acts” and “we cannot tolerate any attempt to terrorize public figures.”

The U.S. Secret Service said Wednesday that it intercepted a bomb that was addressed to Clinton and also discovered a possible explosive sent to Obama.

Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the House, said “this is a dangerous path and it cannot become the new normal.” He said the attempted attacks are “pure terror.”

Scalise survived life-threatening injuries after he was shot at a congressional baseball practice in 2017. He tweeted that he’s experienced “first-hand the effects of political violence.”

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11:43 a.m.

Two law enforcement officials say a suspicious package that prompted an evacuation of CNN’s offices in New York City is believed to contain a pipe bomb.

The officials said the CNN bomb was crude but operational and was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, a CNN contributor.

The officials say the device discovered Wednesday appeared to be similar to explosives sent to former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and billionaire George Soros.

A separate law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the explosive discovered at Soros’ suburban New York compound on Monday was a pipe bomb.

All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

The Secret Service hasn’t provided details about the devices that were sent to Clinton and Obama.

— By Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo in Washington