What do the Clintons, Obamas, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, George Soros, Maxine Waters and CNN have in common? They’re all outspoken critics of President Donald Trump, and recipients of pipe bomb packages. Is there a connection?
A pipe bomb was delivered to the CNN headquarters in New York City on Wednesday morning. It was addressed to former CIA chief John Brennan – who is actually a MSNBC pundit – and had the return address of Rep. Wasserman Schultz. The envelope had insufficient postage, and misspelled Brennan’s name and Florida.
The former DNC chair Schultz’s office in Florida received a similar device. So did the congressional mailroom in Maryland, addressed to Rep. Waters (D-California). Another was sent to the home of former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary in Chappaqua, New York – and Barack and Michelle Obama’s residence in Washington, DC.
READ MORE: Mailbomb blitz: Packages sent to Obama, Soros, CNN, Clintons & others
New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the packages “an act of terrorism” at a press conference on Wednesday, placing them squarely in the context of the upcoming midterm elections. Leaders of Democrats in Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) blamed Trump’s “statements that condone acts of violence” and attack the press. CNN president Jeff Zucker also lashed out at the White House, denouncing Trump's "continued attacks on the media."
Democrat activists were quick to blame Trump and claim this was the work of his supporters, coining the hashtag “MAGAbomber.”
Some conservative commentators countered by saying that the timing of the bomb scare – just two weeks before the contentious midterm elections – suggested a Democrat play for sympathy, and that the vast majority of violent incidents over the past two years were aimed against Republicans.
Hillary Clinton, who was in Florida, was quick to make political hay out of the suspicious packages, saying that America is divided and “we have to do everything we can to bring our country together” – by electing Democrats, of course. She conveniently forgot her own argument against civility towards Republicans, aired on CNN earlier this month.
Earlier in the day, the New York Times ran an op-ed by Alexander Soros, son of the billionaire mega-donor funding the Democrats in the US and like-minded parties in Europe and elsewhere. Decrying the explosive that was sent to his father’s New York residence earlier this week, Soros blamed Trump and called for a Democrat victory in the coming midterms:
“We must find our way to a new political discourse that shuns the demonization of all political opponents. A first step would be to cast our ballots to reject those politicians cynically responsible for undermining the institutions of our democracy. And we must do it now, before it is too late.”
President Trump and his family have condemned the bomb packages as “cowardly attacks” and “despicable acts,” with Trump promising to bring the “full weight of the government” to bear on those responsible.
“In these times we have to unify, we have to come together and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America,” he said at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
It is difficult to tell whether the suspicious packages are the work of an individual or a group, retired US Marshal Matthew Fogg told RT. However, if there are multiple perpetrators, the authorities will have an easier job tracking them down, because odds are greater that “somebody’s going to make a mistake.”
Former CIA officer Philip Giraldi was more skeptical, saying that tracking down the would-be bomber will be “very difficult, unless they were dumb enough to include fingerprints on the bombs or in the packaging.”
The authorities will be looking at small details that laymen usually don’t even notice, Fogg said. He believes evidence resulting from the investigation will be definitive enough to satisfy the public.
The packages “might be an attempt to create negative sentiment against right-wing groups just before the election to create some kind of shift to the left, but there is no evidence of that,” Giraldi told RT. “And I don't think it would be successful,” he added, as most people complaining about the bombs are “committed progressives who are already on board to hating Trump and his supporters.”
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