The United States Secret Service intercepted two “suspicious packages” addressed to former President Barack Obama and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton earlier this week, the agency said Wednesday.
Neither Obama nor Clinton received the packages or were at risk of receiving them, the Secret Service said. They were discovered during “routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” the agency said in a statement.
The Secret Service released a statement saying:
“The U.S. Secret Service has intercepted two suspicious packages addressed to Secret Service protectees.
Late on October 23, 2018, the Secret Service recovered a single package addressed to Former First Lady Hillary Clinton in Westchester County, New York. Early this morning, October 24, 2018, a second package addressed to the residence of Former President Barack Obama was intercepted by Secret Service personnel in Washington, DC.
The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such. Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location. The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.
The Secret Service has initiated a full scope criminal investigation that will leverage all available federal, state, and local resources to determine the source of the packages and identify those responsible.”
Also on Wednesday morning, the New York Police Department responded to a suspicious device discovered in the Time Warner Center in New York City, where CNN has a bureau. It was not immediately clear who the package was addressed to, but CNN evacuated its newsroom as a precaution.
Earlier this week, a suspicious package targeting billionaire investor and major Democratic donor George Soros was discovered and rendered safe. Authorities are investigating whether there are any connections between the three packages.