Suspicious Post for Trump Critics: The Bomb Shock

CNN was on the air when the suspicious mail arrived - and the alarm went off at 10.09. After some confusion, the journalists had to leave the house, as well as all the other people in the Time Warner Center, which in addition to the New York CNN branch also a luxury hotel and a shopping center. The station moved his studio abruptly on the West 58th Street.

Chaos reigns hours later on the street in front of the building. Police sirens howl, anti-terrorism officers with tracking dogs secure the sidewalks. The Columbus Circle around the corner is closed, including fountain. "What's going on here?" Asks a pedestrian. "Bomb alert," a passer-by answers laconically and hurries on.

Video: CNN offices in New York evacuated

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JUSTIN LANE / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock

The New Yorkers are almost used to such events, but this is yet another dimension: six suspected mail and parcel bombs were intercepted Wednesday, addressing, among others, the CNN studio and prominent opposition Democratic politicians, most notably former President Barack Obama , Bill and Hillary Clinton, and ex-Attorney Eric Holder. A similar package to the Democrat financier George Soros was already secured on Monday.

It is clearly terrorist acts aimed at intimidating the free press and politicians, says New York Mayor Bill De Blasio at a press conference on the street in front of the CNN studio. The packages were intended to terrorize American society. This is a "bad time in America," he adds, referring to the current Midterm congressional election campaign. For America this is a "disturbing incident".

Worrying, especially because the perpetrator is not ready yet and backgrounds and motives are completely unclear.

The recipients:

In total, at least six people received suspicious mail. The packages containing the suspected explosive devices were sent to, among others, the address of former US President Barack Obama outside Washington and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton near New York. The Secret Service intercepted these two shipments during routine checks before delivery.

Only a few minutes later, the next shock followed: After a package discovery, the building was cleared in New York, where CNN is located. This broadcast was apparently addressed to former CIA director John Brennan , who regularly appears on CNN as a commentator. So far, it is still unclear whether the explosive devices - according to FBI simple tube bombs - were functional. With the package that went to the New York office, the investigators saw evidence.

Among the other recipients was the former Democratic Party leader Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida. The package went to her only because she was named as the sender - actually should Obama's ex-Minister of Justice Eric Holder received the shipment, but the address was not right. Congressman Maxine Waters also addressed one of the packages.

The mail was similar to the letter bomb found Monday at the home of billionaire and philanthropist George Soros , the New York Times reported citing the police.

Video: Secret Service intercepts "suspicious packages" to Obama and Clinton

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AP

The sender:

Who sent the packages, is still unclear. As sender should have been on the packages for Obama and Clinton according to consistent media reports the name of Debbie Aquarius Schultz. Just like in the case of Obama's former Attorney General Holder. It is striking that even the explosive device found the previous day at US billionaire George Soros had the address of the office of Debbie Aquarius Schultz as the return address.

In the search for a possible motive, at least one commonality of the addressees is revealed. They all did not have a particularly good relationship with Trump. On the contrary.

The tense climate:

Trump condemned the alleged attacks and called in a brief statement on national unity. "Threats and violence have no place in the US."

What Trump did not mention at the White House show, of course, was that all addressees of the alleged letter bombs were Democrats or were his rivals and critics in the past. They have often been confronted with latent threats of violence - including Trump himself:

• Ex-Attorney Holder, who last served under Obama, was singled out by Trump for overseeing the FBI and its then-director James Comey. Trump makes Comey and Holder absurdly responsible for the Russian affair, which he calls a Democrat conspiracy against his political rise.
• African-American MP Waters was repeatedly verbally abused by Trump for publicly criticizing him.
• The US media and especially the employees of CNN he likes to call "traitors to the people" and "enemies of the state", which are "evil, evil people". In July 2017, Trump tweeted a video of a wrestling match he'd once participated in. The head of the man whom Trump beat up there is covered in a CNN logo.
• Billionaire Soros is regarded not only as a hate figure by European right-wing extremists, but also - as one of the most prominent financiers of the US Democrats and other progressive groups - even in the right-wing scene. And just with Trump: Recently, he accused Soros to be behind the "caravan" of Central American refugees, who are just through Mexico on the way to the US border.

"Things got worse"

Critics immediately made Trump's sharp and often violent rhetoric co-responsible for the alleged attacks. His father has always been threatened, wrote Soros' son Alexander Sortos in a contribution to the New York Times. "But things have gotten worse since President Donald Trump's presidential campaign."

I am truly grateful for the support of all who have reached out to inquire about the safety of my family after the attempted bomb attack. Here's my op-ed in the @NYtimes about the incident and what happens to politics in America today. https://t.co/9VALGi85yS

In fact, Trump has repeatedly endorsed, if not encouraged, violence against dissenters - notably Democrats, the media, and the critics. In the final spurt of the current congressional election campaign he has noticeably tightened this talk.

On Wednesday he sounded quite different - but he had to slowly read his explanation from the teleprompter.