A suspicious package was sent to a restaurant owned by Robert De Niro.
Camera IconA suspicious package was sent to a restaurant owned by Robert De Niro. Credit: AFP

Robert De Niro, Joe Biden, latest targets of bomber who sent explosive devices to the Clintons, Obamas and CNN

Reuters, AFP, AAP, staff writersNews Corp Australia Network

US FEDERAL authorities investigating the pipe bombs sent to prominent Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump are focusing on Florida, where they believe at least some of the 10 packages originated.

A police bomb squad and canine units joined federal investigators on Thursday to examine a sprawling US mail distribution centre at Opa-Locka, northwest of Miami, Miami-Dade County police said.

All the targets were figures frequently maligned by right-wing critics. They included Democratic Party donor George Soros, former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former attorney-general Eric Holder, former CIA director John Brennan and California Representative Maxine Waters.

Police presence outside the US Post Office Royal Palm Processing & Distribution Center in Opa-Locka, Florida.
Camera IconPolice presence outside the US Post Office Royal Palm Processing & Distribution Center in Opa-Locka, Florida. Credit: AP

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said that at least five of the packages bore a return address for the Florida office of US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

On Thursday, the investigation widened with the discovery of three additional packages. Two were intended for former vice president Joe Biden in his home state of Delaware and one for actor Robert De Niro in Manhattan.

Authorities believe the packages, which were intercepted before reaching their intended recipients, all went through the US Postal Service at some point, a source said. None detonated and no one has been hurt.

A federal law enforcement source told Reuters the devices were thought to have been fashioned from bomb-making designs widely available on the internet.

Investigators are nevertheless treating the devices as “live” explosives, not a hoax, said James O’Neill, police commissioner of New York City, where two of the parcels have surfaced.

Police at the scene of a bomb scare at a hotel owned by Robert DeNiro, which also houses his production company, in downtown Manhattan.
Camera IconPolice at the scene of a bomb scare at a hotel owned by Robert DeNiro, which also houses his production company, in downtown Manhattan. Credit: Supplied, NY1

Authorities have branded the parcel bombs an act of terrorism. They were sent less than two weeks before national elections that could alter the balance of power in Washington.

Investigators declined to say whether the devices were built to be functional. Bomb experts and security analysts say that based on their rudimentary construction it appeared they were more likely designed to sow fear rather than to kill.

The parcels each consisted of a manila envelope with a bubble-wrap interior containing “potentially destructive devices,” the FBI said. Each was affixed with a computer-printed address label and six “forever” postage stamps, the agency said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombs, and the public was asked to report any tips.

Meanwhile, ABC News in the US is also reporting that former President Jimmy Carter has been told by police to remain on alert because he could also be a target.

Oscar-winner Robert De Niro has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump.
Camera IconOscar-winner Robert De Niro has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump. Credit: AFP

At a press conference the NYPD said “we don’t know” if other bombs are out there but said there are no specific threats to New York.

New York mayor Bill De Blasio said “this is absolutely terrorism”.

Police sources have claimed the suspected explosive device sent to Oscar-winner De Niro may have been sitting in the mailroom of his building for a day or more before it was discovered.

Two officials said that a person affiliated with the Tribeca Film Centre was off work when he saw an image on the internet and elsewhere of the package containing a crude pipe bomb sent to CNN.

That person, who reportedly has a background in law enforcement, recalled seeing a similar package at the film centre mailroom earlier and reported it to police.

Police were dispatched early on Thursday to retrieve it.

It had the same return address used on the other packages. An official said it was suspected to have been delivered earlier this week.

The two officials weren’t authorised to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In June, the 75-year-old received a standing ovation at the Tony Awards in New York for using an expletive to condemn Mr Trump.

During the 2016 campaign, the actor slammed the Republican as “blatantly stupid.”

De Niro has also apologised to Canadians for the “idiotic behaviour of my president.”

Meanwhile, a new scare involving two unattended packages at the Time Warner Centre in New York City has been found to be a false alarm.

Members of the Broward Sheriff's Office bomb squad leaves the building where Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has an office with a robotic bomb disposal device as they investigate a suspicious package.
Camera IconMembers of the Broward Sheriff's Office bomb squad leaves the building where Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has an office with a robotic bomb disposal device as they investigate a suspicious package. Credit: AFP

JOE BIDEN RECEIVES SECOND PACKAGE

A second package addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden was also intercepted at a mail facility in Wilmington, Delaware.

A police official said it had similar markings and characteristics as the packages containing bombs sent to other prominent Democrats.

The official said another package addressed to Mr Biden was also found on Thursday morning, that one at a postal centre in New Castle, Delaware.

The official wasn’t authorised to discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Like De Niro, Mr Biden has also criticised Mr Trump, as recently as last week, saying the US President may not “know what he’s doing” and coddles dictators.

Donald Trump again attacked the media.
Camera IconDonald Trump again attacked the media. Credit: AP

The latest bomb scares comes as Mr Trump lashed out at the media for stirring up “anger.”

Political foes of the Republican commander-in-chief accused him of inciting violence after pipe bombs were sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, CNN and other figures who are loathed by Trump supporters.

With midterm elections less than two weeks away, the president reacted first by calling for unity, but then reverting to attacking the media, which he stepped up early on Thursday.

“A very big part of the anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News,” Mr Trump tweeted.

“It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”

But Mr Trump has stoked unease in the US; he still assails Mrs Clinton at rallies while supporters chant “lock her up” — two years after he defeated her.

He also often singles out cable news network CNN and other news media whose reporting he does not like, terming them “fake news.”

Mr Trump’s press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, however, backed her boss and said the notion that the US President is responsible for the packages sent to his opponents is “disgraceful.”

She told reporters there’s a big difference between “comments made and actions taken.”

Ms Sanders said the Mr Trump is not responsible for sending suspicious packages any more than Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders was responsible for one of his supporters shooting up a Republican baseball practice last year in Virginia.

The spree began on Monday with a device found at the New York home of billionaire liberal donor George Soros.

The FBI said a total of seven suspicious packages were sent in New York, Washington and Florida, including to Obama’s Attorney-General Eric Holder and two to Maxine Waters, a California politician.

A suspected explosive device received at the CNN bureau in New York.
Camera IconA suspected explosive device received at the CNN bureau in New York. Credit: AFP, Courtesy of CNN/AFP

‘ENDLESS HOSTILITY’

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, including misspellings of her last name, the FBI said.

CNN evacuated its New York bureau after a pipe bomb was found in the mailroom together with an envelope containing white powder.

The packaging was addressed care of CNN to former CIA director John Brennan, who has appeared on the channel as a guest and is perhaps Mr Trump’s toughest critic from the national security community.

Mr Brennan took to Twitter on Thursday to slam the US President, saying he should “look in the mirror”, pointing to Mr Trump’s “inflammatory rhetoric, insults, lies, & encouragement of physical violence”.

“Clean up your act [and] try to act Presidential.”

Video stills show police bomb squads investigating a suspicious package in New York’s Tribeca neighbourhood.
Camera IconVideo stills show police bomb squads investigating a suspicious package in New York’s Tribeca neighbourhood. Credit: Supplied, WABC

CNN is known for its often critical coverage of the Trump administration and has constantly provoked the ire of the president.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump condemned the mail-bombs, saying “acts of political violence” have “no place in the United States.”

“The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and stop the endless hostility and constant negative, and often times false attacks and stories,” he later told a campaign rally in Wisconsin.

Former US President Barack Obama was the target of the pipe bomb.
Camera IconFormer US President Barack Obama was the target of the pipe bomb. Credit: AFP, Getty Images/AFP
Former US Vice President Joe Biden also received a suspicious package.
Camera IconFormer US Vice President Joe Biden also received a suspicious package. Credit: AFP, Getty Images/AFP

#MAGABomber trended as users flooded Twitter with accusations that Mr Trump had incited the attempted attacks and highlighting the toxic remarks he has levelled against the pipe bomb targets in the past.

The FBI, US Secret Service and local police have mounted a full-scale criminal investigation, appealing to members of the public to come forward with any information they may have.

‘FALSE ATTACKS AND STORIES’

Liberal and left-wing critics accuse Mr Trump’s rhetoric-laden “Make America Great Again” presidency of emboldening right-wing extremists.

He recently endorsed the body-slamming of a reporter and routinely denounces critical press as “fake news.”

Top Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer on Wednesday accused Mr Trump of condoning “physical violence and dividing Americans.”

Police patrol along the block where former President Barack Obama and his family live a in Washington DC.
Camera IconPolice patrol along the block where former President Barack Obama and his family live a in Washington DC. Credit: AFP, Getty Images/AFP

“It’s a time of deep divisions, and we have to do everything we can to bring our country together,” said Mrs Clinton, who has remained an outspoken political force despite her stunning loss to Mr Trump in 2016.

“There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media,” said CNN president Jeff Zucker.

There has been no claim of responsibility and no one was yet known to have been arrested.

The Secret Service said the Clinton and Obama packages were “identified during routine mail screening procedures” and that neither were ever at risk of receiving them.

A package containing a pipe bomb was sent to the home of Hillary and Bill Clinton.
Camera IconA package containing a pipe bomb was sent to the home of Hillary and Bill Clinton. Credit: AFP

Republican politicians followed the White House in issuing condemnations. Mr Soros, the target of the first device, has long been a hate figure for right-wing groups and lives in Bedford, New York, not far from the Clintons.

The 88-year-old is one of the world’s richest men and supported Mrs Clinton in 2016. He has been accused by nationalists of sponsoring protests and seeking to push a liberal, multicultural agenda.