US FBI says bomb threats made against Trump Cabinet nominees
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US Representative Elise Stefanik - US President-elect Donald Trump's pick for ambassador to the UN - said her family home had been the target of a bomb threat.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - Several members of Donald Trump’s incoming administration have received threats including bomb alerts, the FBI said on Nov 27, with one nominee reporting a pipe-bomb scare sent with a pro-Palestinian message.
“The FBI is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners,” the agency said, in a statement.
Swatting refers to the practice in which police are summoned urgently to someone’s house under false pretences. Such hoax calls are common in the United States and have seen numerous senior political figures targeted in recent years.
Ms Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, earlier said that several appointees and nominees “were targeted in violent, un-American threats to their lives and those who live with them.”
Outgoing President Joe Biden “has been briefed” on the threats, the White House said.
“The White House is in touch with federal law enforcement and the President-elect’s team, and continues to monitor the situation closely,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“The president and the administration unequivocally condemn threats of political violence.”
Ms Elise Stefanik, a Trump loyalist congresswoman tapped to be UN ambassador, said her residence in New York was targeted in a bomb threat.
She said in a statement that she, her husband, and three-year-old son were driving home from Washington for the Thanksgiving holiday when they learned of the threat.
Mr Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, said his home was targeted with a pipe bomb threat sent with a “pro-Palestinian themed message.”
The former congressman from New York said he and his family were not home at the time.
Mr Matt Gaetz, who dropped out as Trump’s pick to be attorney-general after facing opposition over sexual misconduct allegations, reposted Mr Zeldin’s message on X and said: “Same.”
Mr Scott Turner, the nominee for Housing Secretary and a retired NFL player, and Trump’s pick for Labour Secretary, meanwhile also said they had also received bomb threats at their homes.
Fox News Digital quoted unidentified sources saying that Mr John Ratcliffe, Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, and Mr Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary pick, were also targeted.
Mr Lee Zeldin - Trump’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency - said he and his family had been targeted with a pipe bomb threat.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ahead of his return to the House in January, Trump has already swiftly assembled a Cabinet of loyalists, including several criticised for a severe lack of experience.
The Republican, who appears set to avoid trial on criminal prosecutions related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, was wounded in the ear in July
In September, authorities arrested another man
