Suspected Ricin Laced Mail Sent to Mattis, Suspicious Envelopes Sent to Trump, Cruz, All Within 48 Hours
Suspicious letters addressed to high-profile figures including President Trump, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Sen. Ted Cruz were received this week as law enforcement begins a full investigation into the matter.
On Tuesday, Secret Service said that they had intercepted a "suspicious envelope" addressed to President Trump at a location outside of the White House. They provided no further details about the letter.
"We can confirm that we are working jointly with our law enforcement partners to fully investigate this matter," Secret Service said in a statement. "Further, all threats directed towards the President, or any Secret Service protectee, are treated seriously and fully investigated."
Earlier, on the same day, an envelope containing a "white powdery substance" was received by the campaign headquarters of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in Houston.
Multiple fire trucks and at least one hazmat truck responded to the scene after the letter had been opened by campaign staff.
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Two people were hospitalized following exposure to the substance. The Houston fire department would tamp fears when they confirmed that powder had tested negative for anything hazardous.
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The scare at Cruz's headquarters came only hours after it was reported that on Monday two suspicious envelopes containing the deadly toxin ricin were mailed Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson.
According to sources who spoke with NBC, there were no indications anyone had been exposed to the suspicious substance.
Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood said that the facility the ricin-laced mail was received at is located on the Pentagon campus but not within the main building itself.
Ricin is a highly toxic substance that, when ingested, can cause nausea, vomiting and internal bleeding of the stomach and other internal organs.
Investigators are trying to figure out if one person or a group is behind the packages. Meanwhile the Pentagon's mail delivery center is under quarantine, reports CBS News' Jeff Pegues. One was addressed to Defense Secretary James Mattis and the other to Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson.The letter addressed to Secretary Mattis, who is currently out of the country, also contained a five by eight card with handwriting on it, but the content has not been made public. Ricin can cause death in 36 to 72 hours and can only be manufactured deliberately.
Bioweapons experts caution field tests are inconclusive and a lab test has to be conducted to confirm that a substance is in fact ricin.Another letter was sent to Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign office in Houston Monday. That tested negative for any suspicious substance. - CBS News
Considering that these suspicious and laced pieces of mail hit all three locations within a 48-hour span, it is hard to believe it is all a coincidence.
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