Suspicious Letter Sent to President Obama, Link to Ricin Letter Investigated
Suspicious Letter Sent to President Obama, Link to Ricin Letter Investigated
By Jonathan Dienst and Shimon Prokupecz
| Wednesday, Apr 17, 2013 | Updated 11:35 AM EDT
A suspicious letter sent to President Obama and received at an off-site location away from the White House is being investigated as possibly linked to another mailing with ricin sent to a senator, NBC 4 New York has learned.
The letter to Obama contained a "suspicious substance," authorities said.
"A letter addressed to the president was received at a remote screening facility containing a suspicious substance. We are working closely with Capitol Police and the FBI in this investigation," a Secret Service spokesman said.
All White House mail goes through the remote screening facility, officials said. Authorities did not immediately identify the substance in the letter, which was received Tuesday, but NBC News reported preliminary tests were also positive for ricin.
Sources tell NBC 4 New York that the letter is similar to the mailing addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican. That letter was also intercepted at a mail facility Tuesday and did not reach the Capitol. It was postmarked Memphis, Tenn.
The facility used to review all mail sent to Congress is temporarily shut down while a search is under way for the possibility of any other tainted letters.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Suspicious-Letter-President-Obama-Ricin-Letter-Senate-203405261.html
