Two explosive devices were found in the mail that were sent to former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This was reported by the Secret Service Department on Wednesday.
The devices were similar to the one that was found on Monday at the home of George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist, according to two law enforcement officials.
The Secret Service said it “has intercepted two suspicious packages addressed to Secret Service protectees,” who were identified as Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama.
The device addressed to Mrs. Clinton was found late on Tuesday by a Secret Service employee who screens mail for her. The package addressed to Mr. Obama was intercepted by Secret Service personnel in Washington, D.C. early on Wednesday.
“The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such,” the statement said. “The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.”
The statement also said the agency had “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.”
The device that was found at Mr. Soros’s home in the suburb north of New York City was constructed from a length of pipe about six inches long filled with explosive powder, and it was “proactively detonated” by bomb squad technicians.
The motive of the bombers remained unclear, one of the officials said, noting that there had not yet been any claim of responsibility.
In recent days, some have falsely speculated that Soros funded a caravan of migrants moving north in Mexico.
It is unclear where exactly the package addressed to Mrs. Clinton was sent. The Clintons and his wife have a home in Chappaqua, a suburb of New York City.