VIDEO - Packages with pipe bombs sent to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, CNN's New York City office

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Oct. 24, 2018 / 1:20 PM GMT  / Updated  6:12 PM GMT

By Minyvonne Burke, Jonathan Dienst, Tom Winter and Corky Siemaszko

A series of pipe bombs were sent to several prominent Democrats and CNN's New York newsroom, triggering a nationwide investigation Wednesday and bipartisan condemnation.

The targets included former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, and former CIA Director John Brennan, officials and investigators said.

One intercepted package was addressed to Hillary Clinton and discovered on Tuesday near the Clintons' home in Chappaqua, New York, a suburb of New York City. Another was addressed to Obama and intercepted Wednesday in Washington, they said.


The mail bombing targets:


Yet another was addressed to Brennan and discovered Wednesday at CNN's offices in Manhattan. The newsroom was immediately evacuated and the NYPD bomb squad was summoned and an envelope containing an unknown white powder was also found and is now being examined, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

"What we saw here today was an effort to terrorize," de Blasio said. "This was clearly an act of terror."

"So far the devices have been what appeared to be pipe bombs," chimed in Bryan Paarmann, special agent in charge of the FBI Counterterrorism Division and Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York City.

During the same press conference, Cuomo revealed that one of the packages was addressed to him and sent to his office.

"A device has been sent to my office in Manhattan which we were just informed about and that device is being handled," he said.

But shortly afterwards, the FBI said that Cuomo's office had not received an explosive device, and that the suspicious package he received was harmless and unrelated to the other bombs.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., also was the target of a suspicious package intercepted at a Maryland mail processing facility, according to three congressional leadership sources. The FBI is now investigating whether it is tied to the other packages.

Holder's package was mailed to the wrong address and wound up being sent back to the bogus return address that was on the other packages, that of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., according to law enforcement officials. It was intercepted by the Secret Service.

"The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such. Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location," the statement said.

One of the suspected explosive devices intercepted by law enforcement officials on Oct. 24, 2018. NBC News

"The Secret Service has initiated a full scope criminal investigation that will leverage all available federal, state, and local resources to determine the source of the packages and identify those responsible.”

There were also reports of another suspicious package being discovered outside the building that houses the office of Senator Kamala Harris, a California Democrat, as well as the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. It turned out to be a false alarm.

Speaking in Florida, Hillary Clinton thanked the Secret Service and said they "intercepted the package address to us long before it made its way to our home."

"But it is a troubling time," she said. "And it's a time of deep divisions and we have to do everything we can to bring out country together. We also have to elect candidates who will try to do the same."

The spate of suspicious package deliveries to prominent Democrats came in the wake of the discovery of an explosive device that was found Monday in the mailbox of George Soros' home in Bedford, New York.

The devices were in manila packages that included stamps and signatures on them with Wasserman Schultz's address on them, according to three senior law enforcement officials.

The envelope that contained a possible device sent to CNN. Former CIA Director John Brennan's name is misspelled. NBC News

A senior White House official told NBC News that President Trump has been briefed and they are taking it "extremely seriously."

“We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures," added White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. "These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”

Vice President Mike Pence thanked the Secret Service, FBI and local law enforcement for their swift response, saying the "attempted attacks" against Clinton, Obama and CNN were "cowardly" and those responsible for the packages "will be brought to justice."

Trump quickly weighed in with agreement on Twitter.

Law enforcement officials said that device in Soros' mailbox "had the components" of a bomb and contained explosive powder. It was detonated as a precaution, and no one was injured. Soros, a business investor and Holocaust survivor, was reportedly not at home at the time, and declined to comment on the incident.

Police officers stand in front of the home of Hillary and Bill Clinton in Chappaqua, New York on Oct. 24, 2018, after an explosive device was found at the home. Seth Wenig / AP

No arrests have been made.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Adiel Kaplan and Pete Williams contributed.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspicious-package-found-near-new-york-home-bill-hillary-clinton-n923816