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Officials: Letters not linked to NY bomb
2008-03-07
There's apparently no link between the bombing of a military recruiting station in New York's Times Square and letters sent to Congress saying "We Did It," law enforcement officials said Friday. The lengthy anti-war letters -- which arrived with photos of a man standing in front of the recruiting office before it was damaged -- contained no threats and were sent to as many as 100 members of Congress, officials said. Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said an individual was questioned there about the letters to Congress and "there is no evidence linking the letters, which contained no threat, to the bombing." A law enforcement official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation of the bombing was continuing, called the timing of the letters an "incredibly unbelievable coincidence" and said no charges were expected in connection with them. Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill were startled to receive the letters in their office mail Thursday afternoon, just hours after the early morning New York bombing, and turned them over to the Capitol Police. One law enforcement official said the "We Did It" referred to the Democratic wins. The Democrats gained control of Congress in 2006. "It looked like a holiday card," Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., said Friday. He described a photograph of a white man who appeared to be in his 30s or 40s, standing in front of the Times Square office before it was damaged, with the words, "We Did It" and "Happy New Year" printed below the photo. Capitol Police, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service were investigating. In an e-mail to lawmakers, Capitol Police said the envelopes went through the standard security process. That process, which involves radiating incoming mail, can easily take a week or more, making it likely the letters were mailed well ahead of the bombing. The small bomb caused minor damage to the New York military recruiting station before dawn Thursday and police were searching for a hooded bicyclist seen on a surveillance video pedaling away. ___ Associated Press Writers Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles and Andrew Miga in Washington contributed to this report.
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