WASHINGTON: Several members of Donald Trump’s incoming administration have received threats including bomb alerts, the FBI said Wednesday, 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 pretenses. Such hoax calls are common in the United States and have seen numerous senior political figures targeted in recent years.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, earlier said that several appointees and nominees “were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them.”
Elize 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 small son were driving home from Washington for the Thanksgiving holiday when they learned of the threat.
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.
Fox News Digital quoted unidentified sources saying that John Ratcliffe, Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary pick, were also targeted.
Ahead of his return to the House in January, Trump has already swiftly assembled a cabinet of loyalists, including several criticized 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 an assassination attempt during a campaign rally. The shooter was killed in counter-fire.
In September, authorities arrested another man accused of planning to shoot at Trump while he played golf at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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FBI says bomb threats made against Trump nominees
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FBI says bomb threats made against Trump nominees
- “The FBI is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees,” the agency said
- Elize Stefanik, a Trump loyalist congresswoman tapped to be UN ambassador, said her residence in New York was targeted in a bomb threat
Erdogan warns Black Sea should not be ‘area of confrontation’ after strikes
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned that the Black Sea should not turn into an “area of confrontation” between Russia and Ukraine, after several strikes in recent weeks.
“The Black Sea should not be seen as an area of confrontation. This would not benefit Russia or Ukraine. Everyone needs safe navigation in the Black Sea,” he was quoted as telling reporters aboard his plane, according to the official Anadolu news agency.
A Russian air strike damaged a Turkish-owned vessel in a port in Ukraine’s Black Sea region of Odesa, Kyiv and the operator said on Friday.
The attack came hours after Erdogan had raised the issue personally with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan.
Erdogan had called for a “limited ceasefire” concerning attacks on ports and energy facilities in the Russia-Ukraine war, during the face-to-face talks with Putin, according to his office.
On the plane, Erdogan said he mainly discussed the war and peace efforts with Putin, Anadolu reported.
“Like all other actors, Mr.Putin knows very well where Turkiye stands on this issue,” he said.
“After this meeting we held with Putin, we hope to have the opportunity to also discuss the peace plan with US President (Donald) Trump,” he added.
“Peace is not far away, we can see it.”
Turkiye, which has sought to maintain relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the war, controls the Bosphorus Strait, a key passage for transporting Ukrainian grain and Russian oil toward the Mediterranean.
Over the past weeks, several attacks also targeted Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea, some of which were drone attacks claimed by Kyiv.
The attacks sparked harsh criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from both Russia and Ukraine.
“The Black Sea should not be seen as an area of confrontation. This would not benefit Russia or Ukraine. Everyone needs safe navigation in the Black Sea,” he was quoted as telling reporters aboard his plane, according to the official Anadolu news agency.
A Russian air strike damaged a Turkish-owned vessel in a port in Ukraine’s Black Sea region of Odesa, Kyiv and the operator said on Friday.
The attack came hours after Erdogan had raised the issue personally with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan.
Erdogan had called for a “limited ceasefire” concerning attacks on ports and energy facilities in the Russia-Ukraine war, during the face-to-face talks with Putin, according to his office.
On the plane, Erdogan said he mainly discussed the war and peace efforts with Putin, Anadolu reported.
“Like all other actors, Mr.Putin knows very well where Turkiye stands on this issue,” he said.
“After this meeting we held with Putin, we hope to have the opportunity to also discuss the peace plan with US President (Donald) Trump,” he added.
“Peace is not far away, we can see it.”
Turkiye, which has sought to maintain relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the war, controls the Bosphorus Strait, a key passage for transporting Ukrainian grain and Russian oil toward the Mediterranean.
Over the past weeks, several attacks also targeted Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea, some of which were drone attacks claimed by Kyiv.
The attacks sparked harsh criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from both Russia and Ukraine.
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