Authorities have intercepted a letter to the White House that tested positive for ricin poison, according to multiple media reports.
The Secret Service has acknowledged the letter addressed to President Obama contained a suspicious substance but has not stated it was ricin, a deadly poison.
On Tuesday, lawmakers revealed that a letter addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) had tested positive for the poison.
The Secret Service said the letter was sent to Obama on April 16 and was discovered at an remote White House mail screening facility.
"This facility routinely identifies letters or parcels that require secondary screening or scientific testing before delivery," the Secret Service said in a statement. "The Secret Service White House mail screening facility is a remote facility, not located near the White House complex, that all White House mail goes through."
The agency said it is working closely with the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI in the investigation.
Fox News reported that like the letter to Wicker, the letter to Obama was sent from Memphis, Tenn. Fox News said the letters to Obama and Wicker contained similar language and are signed identically.
News of the letters comes just days after two bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in a terrorist attack that killed three people and injured more than 170. Government officials have not linked the two events.
Security has been tightened since the attacks, with visitors asked to take off their shoes before entering some Senate and House office buildings on Tuesday.
Capitol Police on Wedneday issued messages to Senate offices that they were responding to a suspicious envelopes on the third floors of the Russell and Hart Senate Office Buildings.
The message directed staff and other personnel to avoid that area until further notice. Capitol Police were telling staffers in the buildings to remain in their offices and ushering people out of hallways.
Sen. Carl Levin's (D-Mich.) local Saginaw, Mich., office reported a suspicious-looking letter to law enforcement, a Levin aide told The Hill.
The letter was not opened and law enforcement officials are now investigating it. The building was evacuated as a precaution, the aide said.
Of the letter sent to Wicker, Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance W. Gainer said: “The letter was not outwardly suspicious, which is usually a clue.
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Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:34 pm
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