Feds probing suspicious letters to election officials, lawmakers

Federal authorities are investigating a wave of threatening-looking mail sent to election administrators across the country and to members of Congress, some of it holding white powder, just under three weeks before the midterms. The FBI and the U. S. Postal Inspection Service are handling the inquiry. Deputy chief inspector Brendan Donahue said some envelopes held an unidentified substance, that they went to many addresses nationwide, and that investigators have intercepted some of them. He would not give a count or discuss links among the incidents, according to CBS News.

On Capitol Hill, CBS News reports that Democratic offices were hit hardest, including that of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester, Kirsten Gillibrand, Angela Alsobrooks, Chris Murphy, Alex Padilla and Chris Coons all reported suspicious mail, as did Republicans Mike Rounds and Pete Ricketts. Rounds said his Sioux Falls office was evacuated. In the Bronx, six staffers for Representative Ritchie Torres were exposed to a powder later found harmless; Torres said the envelope bore a San Antonio return address. Representative Bobby Scott also said a letter to his district office was intercepted.

Election offices in at least eight states received packages.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →