CNN on Wednesday reported that the suspicious package that forced an evacuation of its New York headquarters was addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, a frequent Trump critic and MSNBC contributor.
“This suspicious package was in fact addressed to CNN but it was specifically addressed to the former CIA director John Brennan,” CNN’s Wolf Blizter reported on air (which you can see in the video above). “He is a contributor to MSNBC and NBC News, but not CNN.”
MSNBC did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Brennan, who was the CIA director during the Barack Obama administration, had appeared frequently on CNN shows as a guest. Trump had revoked his security clearance this past summer.
New York City’s Time Warner Center, including the offices and studios of CNN, was evacuated on Wednesday after receiving a suspicious package, the network reported.
“The NYPD is responding to a suspicious device discovered at the Time Warner Center, where CNN is based, in New York, according to a law enforcement source,” the network reported in a tweet. “The CNN bureau has evacuated as a precaution.”
On air, CNN crime and justice reporter Shimon Prokupecz said that a metal detector inside the Time Warner Center had uncovered what appeared to be a “pipe bomb” inside the package.
“What raised the alarm bell was when they X-rayed the package they found what looked like metal material, perhaps a pipe bomb. We’ve talked about other pipe bombs or bombs inside of metal construction that’s been delivered at other locations,” said Prokupecz. “Then also we’re being told there were wires. What appeared to be wires inside this package.”
The news comes after similar suspicious packages were sent to former president Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and billionaire financier George Soros earlier this week.