US probes pipe bombs sent to foes of Trump

US authorities pressed ahead yesterday with an all-out probe into who was behind pipe bombs sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, other top Democrats, and CNN, all of them hate figures for supporters of President Donald Trump. Trump critics accused him of encouraging violence just days before a bitterly divided America votes November 6 in elections. Trump reacted to the rapid fire spate of bomb alerts by first calling for unity, but then reverting to attacking the media and its “endless hostility.”

CNN is known for its often critical coverage of the Trump administration and has constantly provoked the ire of the president, who succeeded Obama and defeated Clinton in 2016. The spree began Monday with a device at the New York home of billionaire liberal donor George Soros. “So far the devices have been what appear to be pipe bombs,” said FBI agent Bryan Paarmann. “Whether it’s one person or a network, not really sure at this point,” New York police chief James O’Neill told CNN, saying he expected those responsible to be identified and arrested within the next few days.

At least seven suspicious packages were sent in New York, Washington and Florida, including to prominent African American Democrats, Obama’s attorney general Eric Holder and Maxine Waters, a California lawmaker. Late Wednesday, police in Los Angeles said another suspicious package had been found at a mail facility, also addressed to Waters. Bomb disposal experts rendered it safe, authorities said. 

The packages  were sent in manila envelopes with bubble wrap, marked with computer-printed address labels. Each listed Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, as the sender. The return address included misspellings of Wasserman Schultz’s last name, the Miami Herald and other news outlets reported. A photo of the device sent to CNN showed it to be a short length of pipe wrapped in black tape, with wires sticking out of either end.

From the White House, Trump initially appealed for unity, saying “acts of political violence” have “no place in the United States.” “Those engaged in the political arena must stop treating political opponents as being morally defective,” he later told a campaign rally in Wisconsin, before switching his criticism back to the media.