Sweep of Biden home finds no suspicious package
Police swept former Vice President Joe Biden's Greenville home Wednesday after suspicious packages were sent to homes of other national Democratic leaders.
New Castle County Police said they found no such parcel delivered to Biden's Greenville home. Rehoboth Beach Mayor Paul Kuhns said no police activity was being conducted at Biden's vacation home in the resort town.
County Police Master Cpl. Michel Eckerd said officers searched the Greenville estate and surrounding area Wednesday morning. County officers worked with FBI agents as a precautionary measure after parcels were sent to the homes of former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Suspicious packages sent to Clintons, Obamas, CNN New York offices
This is not the first time county officers have worked with federal agents at Biden's 7,000-square-foot custom home, which sits on a private lake several hundred yards from Barley Mill Road.
County officers, along with the Secret Service, investigated gunfire near then-Vice President Biden's Greenville home on Jan. 17, 2015.
That shooter fired several rounds from a car speeding past the entrance to Biden's estate. Biden told "CBS This Morning" that police found four shell casings about 100 yards from his home.
The Secret Service acknowledged they had no surveillance cameras facing the main road in front of Biden's home. No one was charged in that incident.
Later that year, a report issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform detailed a number of failures by the Secret Service, including a 2013 incident in which four young adults went fishing in Biden's backyard. The individuals went undetected until a neighbor saw them and called agents.
Shots fired outside Bidens' Delaware home
Suspicious packages sent to Clintons, Obamas, CNN New York offices
On Wednesday, the Secret Service said it recovered a package addressed to the Westchester, New York, home of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton late Tuesday. The press release only mentioned Hilliary Clinton, a former first lady and secretary of state.
A U.S. official reportedly told the Associated Press that investigators believe the explosive sent to Clinton is linked to one found Monday at the Bedford, New York, home of liberal billionaire George Soros. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the investigation, according to the AP.
Another package, this one addressed to former President Barack Obama's Washington, D.C., residence, was intercepted Wednesday morning by Secret Service agents.
Also on Wednesday, a police bomb squad was sent to CNN's offices in New York City and the newsroom was evacuated. Responding officers found a live explosive device along with an envelope containing white powder that was part of that original packaging, according to a police statement.
During a press conference about the CNN incident, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said a suspicious package was found at his New York City office.
"A preliminary investigation on the package at Gov. Cuomo's office shows it is computer files on the hate group, The Proud Boys, who recently appeared in New York," Cuomo Spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in a statement.
The Proud Boys are a far-right hate group that was recently in New York City.
USA Today reported that suspicious packages were sent to other prominent Democrats, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in South Florida and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
The Secret Service said it has launched a criminal investigation into the packages sent to Clinton and Obama.
"The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such," the Secret Service's statement said. "Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location.
"The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them."
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.