{"id":35259,"date":"2024-11-28T19:18:07","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T01:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=35259"},"modified":"2024-11-28T19:18:12","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T01:18:12","slug":"trump-transition-team-says-several-cabinet-picks-targeted-with-bomb-threats-and-swatting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=35259","title":{"rendered":"Trump transition team says several Cabinet picks targeted with bomb threats and swatting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Trump-Vance transition team said Wednesday that several of President-elect Donald Trump<\/u><\/a>\u2019s Cabinet picks and administration appointees \u201cwere targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them\u201d Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese attacks ranged from bomb threats to \u2018swatting.\u2019 In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted,\u201d Karoline Leavitt, who will serve as Trump\u2019s press secretary, said in a statement. \u201cPresident Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FBI said in a statement that it is aware of \u201cnumerous bomb threats and swatting incident<\/u><\/a>s targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees\u201d and is working with other law enforcement. \u201cWe take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Joe Biden was briefed Wednesday on the incidents, and a White House spokesperson told CNN the president and his administration \u201cunequivocally condemn threats of political violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe President has been briefed. The White House is in touch with federal law enforcement and the President-elect\u2019s team, and continues to monitor the situation closely. Federal law enforcement\u2019s response, alongside state and local authorities, remains ongoing,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A federal law enforcement source said none of those targeted were protectees of the US Secret Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew McCabe, a former FBI deputy director and CNN contributor, said he was not surprised by the threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis has become a very, very common aspect of life for really anyone who is in a high profile or even a remotely controversial position. It\u2019s been going on for years,\u201d McCabe said in an interview Wednesday. \u201cThey probably know \u2013 90% sure \u2013 that these threats that come in are worthless and there\u2019s nothing to them, but they can\u2019t take the risk of not responding on the off-chance that one real threat gets through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swatting<\/u><\/a> is a criminal hoax that involves falsely reporting a crime, such as a mass shooting or bomb threat, with the intention of getting police to arrive at a certain location. In an era of highly charged partisan politics, these types of threats have targeted a wide span of ideologies. Special counsel Jack Smith, for example, and Judge Tanya Chutkan, who oversaw the federal election subversion case against Trump, have previously been targeted<\/u><\/a> by such incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One law enforcement official familiar with these incidents and investigations told CNN that such swatting calls are quite common and often target people who are in the news at a given time. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty routine,\u201d the official said of the incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House GOP conference and Trump\u2019s pick to be ambassador to the United Nations, was informed of a bomb threat to her residence, her office said in a Wednesday morning statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis morning, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, her husband, and their three year old son were driving home to Saratoga County from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence,\u201d the statement said. \u201cNew York State, County law enforcement, and U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Capitol Police said in a statement that it could not provide additional details. \u201cAnytime a Member of Congress is the victim of a \u2018swatting\u2019 incident, we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement partners. To protect ongoing investigations and to minimize the risk of copy-cats, we cannot provide more details at this time,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee Zeldin, Trump\u2019s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, posted on X about a pipe bomb threat targeting his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA pipe bomb threat tar\ufeffgeting me and my family at our home today was sent in with a pro-Palestinian themed message. My family and I were not home at the time and are safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Brooke Rollins, Trump\u2019s choice for Agriculture secretary, also posted about a threat \u201cissued against our home and family,\u201d noting that her family was unharmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s pick for Labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, also shared on X that her Oregon home was targeted with a pipe bomb threat Tuesday night, adding, \u201cThis kind of violence harms not just the intended targets, but entire communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pete Hegseth<\/u><\/a>, Trump\u2019s selection to lead the Defense Department, said police informed him Wednesday morning that his home was similarly targeted with a pipe bomb threat. He wrote on X<\/u><\/a> that he \u201cwill not be bullied or intimidated\u201d by the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott Turner, who was chosen to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said on X that he too faced a threat. And Matt Gaetz, who recently withdrew as Trump\u2019s pick<\/u><\/a> for attorney general, said<\/u><\/a> he had also been threatened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Ratcliffe, Trump\u2019s pick for CIA director, received a bomb threat to his home, according to a source familiar. And a separate source familiar said Howard Lutnick, Trump\u2019s choice for Commerce secretary, was also targeted by a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN has reached out to US Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security for comment. A spokesperson for the transition team declined to provide further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

cnn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump-Vance transition team said Wednesday that several of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s Cabinet picks and administration appointees \u201cwere targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them\u201d Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. \u201cThese attacks ranged from bomb threats to \u2018swatting.\u2019 In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":35260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[31105,31349,1230],"class_list":["post-35259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-bomb-threats","tag-cabinet-picks","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35261,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35259\/revisions\/35261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}