Feds probing suspicious letters to election officials, lawmakers

Washington — Federal investigators said Wednesday that they are looking into "suspicious" letters mailed to state election officials and congressional offices, some of which contained unknown substances.

The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating the "suspicious mailings," according to Brendan Donahue, the deputy chief inspector at the USPIS. Donahue told reporters that some letters have contained an unknown substance and that they were sent to "various addresses nationwide," including "secretary of state offices and the related election offices."

"We are committed to protecting our nation's election officials from threatening and dangerous mail. Any threat or attack on an election official is unacceptable," Donahue said. "Our partners, including the FBI and we at the Postal Inspection Service, will bring all of our resources to bear on these investigations."

The Senate sergeant at arms also issued a notice to congressional staff informing them of the investigation. The message, which was obtained by CBS News, said congressional offices were among those who received the suspicious letters.

A spokesman for Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said his office was one of those targeted.

"Sen. Murphy's office was sent a letter with a suspicious substance. Our office was promptly informed of the letter by FBI, SAA, and Capitol Police, and we continue to work closely with them and federal law enforcement," said Josh Sorbe, a spokesman for Murphy. "Due to those efforts and various safety protocols, the Senator and staff were not in immediate danger."

Federal officials are working to identify the responsible parties and have intercepted some of the letters, Donahue said. Donahue declined to provide an exact number of incidents or discuss possible connections, citing the ongoing investigation. He added that investigators would bring their full resources to bear on the cases.

The development comes less than three weeks before the midterm elections. Federal investigators also probed a series of suspicious letters ahead of the 2024 elections.

In addition to the congressional offices, top election officials in at least two states reported that their offices received packages containing a white powder in recent days.

Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said Tuesday that an employee in her office's Elections Division opened a package and found a white powder.

"Law enforcement responded to today's incident and conducted tests that found no evidence of harmful substances," she wrote on Facebook, adding that no one was injured.

The Oklahoma State Election Board said it received an envelope containing "suspicious" white powder Tuesday morning, and its office was evacuated.

Paul Ziriax, secretary of the election board, said no one was hurt as a result of the incident, and law enforcement is investigating.