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Trump on suspicious packages: ‘Threats or acts of political violence have no place’ in US

Posted at 1:04 PM, Oct 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-24 15:04:19-04

By Sarah Westwood, CNN

President Donald Trump addressed on Wednesday suspicious packages sent to former President Barack Obama, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintonand other individuals as well as CNN, saying the country’s leaders must “come together” to speak out against threats of political violence.

“I just want to tell you that in these times, we have to unify,” Trump said at an unrelated opioid bill signing event at the White House. “We have to come together and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that threats or acts of political violence have no place in the United States of America.”

“It’s a very bipartisan statement,” he added. “This egregious conduct is abhorrent to everything we hold dear and sacred as Americans.”

Earlier Wednesday, authorities have intercepted suspicious devices intended for Obama and Clinton, and the Florida office of Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was evacuated Wednesday after a suspicious package was mailed there.

Also, CNN’s New York bureau in the Time Warner Center was evacuated after a package with an explosive device, addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, was discovered, city and local law enforcement officials said.

In addition, sources told CNN that a suspicious package intended for California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters was intercepted at a congressional mail screening facility in Maryland and the San Diego Union-Tribune evacuated its building after “suspicious looking packages” were spotted outside. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he received a “device” at his office in Manhattan, but that package was later determined to be literature and not related to the other packages

The President noted he had just concluded a briefing with the FBI, Department of Justice, Homeland Security Department and Secret Service.

“The full weight of our government is being deployed to conduct this investigation,” Trump said. “We will spare no resources or expense in this effort.”

The President spoke from TelePrompTer but added this line at the end — not on screen in front of him:

“We are extremely angry, upset, unhappy about what we witnessed this morning, and we will get to the bottom of it,” Trump said.

Trump is still planning to travel to Mosinee, Wisconsin on Wednesday evening for a political rally in support of embattled Republican Gov. Scott Walker, White House communications director Bill Shine tells CNN.