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Suspicious Package Ignites in Washington D.C. Mail Building
Aired January 07, 2011 - 16:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Want to go to CNN producer Eric Marrapodi, who is the one who is providing us with those live, streaming pictures. Here's another live picture from our Washington affiliate WJLA.
And, Eric, just reset the scene for me. I see a lot of flashing lights. Tell me who you see and have you seen evacuations?
ERIC MARRAPODI, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Sure, Brooke.
We're seeing a lot of police, fire, emergency, medical assistance. We're seeing a lot of apparatuses out here. We know the FBI and ATF are on their ways, Jeanne Meserve has reported.
Where we are right now is a fairly industrial and mixed-use residential area. The fence I'm shooting through right now is at a Budweiser distribution plant. And the media is being staged right now at a Wachovia bank.
BALDWIN: Huh.
MARRAPODI: Those two locations have not been evacuated where we are. That distribution -- beer distributor and the bank have not been evacuated and it looks like the building to the left of our shot has not been evacuated either.
Now, as we get probably about a block-and-a-half away right now from that post office facility and it's tough to see. We haven't seen a lot of folks streaming out of there, things you would typically see in an evacuation like that, but we are seeing just tons and tons of emergency personnel and police and fire right now.
BALDWIN: Eric, you know, I have covered situations like this. And I know it's kind of tough when it's fresh to get any kind of guidance from police, because they're worried. They're working on that investigation. But have they given you any kind of guidance as to whether or not they will hold any kind of news conference to inform the public, to inform also members of the media?
MARRAPODI: The guidance we have got right now is stay back and don't get hurt.
BALDWIN: Yes.
MARRAPODI: As you know from covering these, that's the guidance you get first and foremost in these. As for whether or not there's an upcoming news conference or a statement from police, we don't know yet. When we asked officers, is anyone hurt, have you heard anything, what they tell us is they don't know.
And as you know from these situations, the further out you get in the perimeter, the tougher it is to get that information out to the other officers and then out to us in the media.
BALDWIN: Right.
Well, Eric Marrapodi, you're going an excellent job by providing us some of those live picture. We really appreciate it. I am going to let you try to information-gather.
Meantime, I'm going to turn it over to our colleague, to Jeanne Meserve, who is live in Washington, D.C.
Jeanne, what are you learning?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, I just spoke to a source on the scene who told me at this point authorities don't have a clue if what has happened here at this postal screening facility has any connection at all to what happened yesterday up in Maryland.
The source did say that all employees at this facility have been evacuated. Everybody is accounted for. That meshes with the earlier reports we have gotten that there were no injuries involved here.
You know, we did hear a lot just a little bit earlier today about those devices that were found in Maryland yesterday, first of all, a description of them as being white boxes, seven-and-a-half inches by four inches by one inches -- by one inch, rather, sort of similar in size and shape to something a VHS tape might come with.
Those devices had a note inside, an original in one, a copy in the other, which appeared to reference unhappiness with signs posted over Maryland highways urging people to report any sort of suspicious activity, and signed with either an X or a letter 10 -- or the Roman numeral that would represent 10.
But they were not releasing any information about the device itself, how it was made. Obviously, they were incendiary and they have been sent to the FBI lab in Quantico for analysis.
We don't know yet anything about the physical description of whatever it is that apparently caught on fire here at this screening facility this afternoon, if it fits that same physical description, if there was a note inside, none of that known at this point in time.
Of course, that's something that investigators want to follow up on. It was kind of interesting that when the superintendent of state police in Maryland was talking just a short time ago, he says, we want to catch this person because we don't know if they're going to try and do it again, if they're going to try and do something bigger. Again, we don't know for sure.
And we don't know at all whether this event unfolding now in Washington has any relationship, but perhaps he was a little prescient in his remarks this afternoon. I suspect we will find out more shortly.
BALDWIN: Sure.
Jeanne, what about -- do you know yet from your sources within this building in Washington, D.C., are we talking one envelope or are we talking two?
MESERVE: One, possibly two, is the phraseology that we have heard thus far. We don't have any definitive word on that thus far.
BALDWIN: OK.
What about the significance of this particular postal facility? What do you know about the mail that goes in and where it goes out?
MESERVE: Well, we do know it's used to screen mail that goes to various federal buildings here in Washington. We are not saying anything more specific than that at this point in time.
You remember the anthrax attacks a few years ago.
BALDWIN: Sure.
MESERVE: That was a real wakeup call for the Postal Service and for the risks that mail can pose. And a lot of new procedures were installed after those events which, quite tragically, took the lives of some postal workers here in Washington.
BALDWIN: That was October 2001.
MESERVE: That's right.
And I know that for a while at least there was irradiation of mail going on that was going to the Capitol and various other federal buildings. It was kind of a controversial process. I looked at some of the things that had been irradiated. It could make envelopes very brittle. Paper would sometimes crumble.
You would look at discs and things like that were being mailed and they'd be totally warped. And I'm not clear, to be perfectly frank, Brooke, as to whether they are still doing that sort of irradiation or not of mail coming into federal buildings.
BALDWIN: OK. OK.
Well, apparently this particular building is there specifically designed because of what happened, as you were talking about, the anthrax mail attacks in October of '01. And clearly it is serving its purpose.
Jeanne, I will let you continue to get information. Thank you for that update, and hopefully we will get you back on.
Oh, you have one more thought. Go ahead, Jeanne.
MESERVE: Brooke, we do have a little piece of new information from a law enforcement source.
BALDWIN: Yes.
MESERVE: This source says that the envelope -- and this is in reference to one envelope -- was -- that ignited was not opened and did not go off in an employee's hands. The person tossed it into a sorting bin and then smelled smoke.
BALDWIN: Huh.
MESERVE: That's what we're hearing from a law enforcement source.
BALDWIN: OK. I see you reading your BlackBerry there on my router, so you're just getting this information in here. I appreciate you passing that along.
And that is key. Unlike yesterday in Annapolis and Hanover, where those two employee were opening the envelope, in this situation, according to your source, it was not opened, it did not go off in this individual's hand, and it was tossed into a bin, and that is when -- did you say they smelled smoke?
MESERVE: Smelled smoke is how this source puts it. And, yesterday, we were hearing with those devices in Maryland that there was a smell of sulfur, nothing that specific here in this information we have had so far, but we're in the early going here. We will have more to tell.
BALDWIN: We are indeed.
Jeanne Meserve, I thank you.
We also have Jim Cavanaugh on the line, retired ATF.
Jim, let's talk after the break.
Let's get a break in. You're watching all this breaking news unfolding here right here on CNN. Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK. Just to bring you back up to speed, these are live streaming pictures of a U.S. postal facility. This is in Northeast D.C.. This is the 3300 block, if you're familiar, of V Street.
And we're just getting little bits and pieces of information in. We know, according to Jeanne Meserve, our homeland security correspondent, and a couple other folks with CNN, that there is at least one envelope, and Jeanne actually just got this bit in. It didn't actually go off in an employee's hands, per se, as was the situation yesterday in Maryland, but according to her source, that employee sort of tossed the envelope into a bin and that is when that employee smelled smoke.
As a result, especially after yesterday's frightening moments in both Hanover and Annapolis, you have all kinds of -- you see the flashing lights, metro police, FBI en route to try to get to the bottom of this.
I want to bring in Mike Brooks, HLN's security expert.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Law enforcement analyst.
BALDWIN: Law enforcement analyst.
BROOKS: There you go.
BALDWIN: Also, though, in D.C., former FBI joint terrorism task force.
So, this used to be your old backyard.
BROOKS: My stomping grounds, that's for sure.
Now, this facility, Brooke, it was created -- remember all the anthrax issues that they had in Washington?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: October of '01.
BROOKS: Right. In fact, there was a postal employee who was killed who died as a result of exposure to anthrax.
Now, this is the facility that was created to deal with all postal -- all parcels, letters coming to the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Supreme Court and other government buildings. And so this is a special facility.
And you're absolutely right. My sources tell me that there was no one handling this at the time. But again they did have a fire, a sulfur smell, just like we heard from the incidents yesterday, but no one was injured in this, where yesterday there were some employees in the mailroom that had some slight burns.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Singeing of hands.
BROOKS: Correct.
BALDWIN: And it's important to point out, and perhaps you can help me do this -- we have both lived in Washington --
BROOKS: Yes. BALDWIN: -- where this is V Street Northeast. This is far, far away from where tourists are, far from the National Mall, far from monuments.
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Right, between Rhode Island and New York Avenue. People who travel to Washington from the north sometimes come in through New York Avenue.
BALDWIN: Residential area.
BROOKS: Right. But it's up in that area, very industrial. In fact, it's not too far from the old post office facility, the main post office facility, where the anthrax incidents took place.
BALDWIN: And this is so key. This is why they have these particular facilities, in order to sort of work interference, if you will, for some of these potentially -- these people with nefarious intentions on sending these packages, which could --
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKS: Right, because we used to respond all the time to the Old Executive Office Building, the U.S. Capitol for --
BALDWIN: Suspicious packages all the time.
BROOKS: -- suspicious packages. I was on the team that we responded to every suspicious package in D.C. when I was on the FBI's joint force task force, which I should say is there on the scene. I know there are members that are from my old squad that are on the scene.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: What are you hearing, if anything, that you can share?
BROOKS: It sounds a lot like the incidents we saw yesterday in Hanover and in Annapolis. It sounds very, very similar.
Now I can tell you, you know, the FBI is handling the particular cases from yesterday. Though all the evidence is going to be going to the FBI explosives lab in Quantico and most likely, same with this.
Now what happens is the FBI office, they're in Annapolis, there's an RA out of the Baltimore field office, they send notifications and he sends -- I guess you don't want to say e-mails, but they send notifications to all field offices to have their agents in the JTTFs to go out to Postal facilities and let people know what it looks like. Because, you know, we saw yesterday with the fire marshal's office from Maryland, he showed exactly what the box looked like, the postage, all these kinds of things. So maybe these Postal -- Postal employees were well aware of this and that's why there were no injuries in this particular case. BALDWIN: Yes, Dan, I don't know if we have that picture handy at all, but we saw that held up yesterday, it was the particular package that went to Annapolis. And they said it was the size of, you know, a book or a -- here it is -- or a VHS tape. It had five holiday stamps, it was addressed to Maryland's governor, Martin O'Malley.
And when I was talking to our colleague Tom Fuentes, I was asking him, you know, why do this, why send something like this through the mail. And he said one of the reasons was because it's difficult to trace.
BROOKS: It is, it's very difficult to trace, unless there's some evidence inside that box they were able to retrieve.
BALDWIN: Let's talk about that. Why is that significant, the forensics of these devices?
BROOKS: I'll give you a perfect example. Remember the Unabomber? Ted Kaczynski. He had sent a manifest to "The New York Times." There was another expected at "The Washington Post." And so my old partner and I, we went down and spoke to David Graham, who was one of the publishers of "The Washington Post" and we said, look, you might be getting a manifesto from this Unabomber. And they said, OK, great. Well, you mind talking to our mailroom employees about that? We said, not at all.
So we were down waiting for everybody to come back from lunch, and I'm just kind of looking around on table where all the mail was coming in and I saw the envelope that was there. What we did, we were able to take that envelope, take it down to the FBI lab, open it up under a hood and we were able to retrieve trace evidence -- hairs, fibers. And we were able to match up hairs from a rug and from a dog that was in Ted Kaczynski's cabin and that's what helped make that particular case.
BALDWIN: That is amazing.
BROOKS: So it's very important for the integrity and the evidence of that particular package --
BALDWIN: Keep it intact.
BROOKS: Keep in intact. You know, how much you can get after a -- as we would recall, a thermal event, with a little fire, you still should be able to retrieve evidence. And I heard there was a good amount evidence to retrieve from those two packages yesterday.
BALDWIN: That's what Jeanne Meserve was saying. And it's still too early to tell. We haven't gotten the information as to what this particular package looked like, whether it was an envelope, whether it was, large, small, we just don't know.
Stand by with me, Mike. We're going to sneak a break in, get a little more information, we'll be right back here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN. We're continuing to follow this breaking story out of northeast (sic) Washington. I want to bring back in CNN producer Eric Marrapodi who is providing us with some of these live streaming images.
And, Eric, reset the scene for me. What do you see? Who's there? What are you hearing?
MARRAPODI: Brooke, since we last spoke, Brooke a number of new agencies kind of join the mix here. Where this post office is located is it's right behind some Amtrak railroad tracks, and as we've been out here watching we've seen a number of trains go by, both Amtrak lines and some commuter lines here, the MARC train, which is a train that goes up to Maryland.
And Amtrak police are now on the scene in addition to Washington's field office. We've also seen some of their vehicles arrived here as well.
No word yet from officials here as to whether they'll be giving any more information, whether there will be a press conference. But certainly an uptick in activity since we last spoke.
BALDWIN: OK, Eric, I'm going to let you go so you can to get a little more information for me.
I want to bring Jeanne Meserve back in with new information. Jeanne, the floor is yours.
MESERVE: Brooke, this comes from a Department of Homeland Security official saying initial reporting indicates this incident bears characteristics similar to the flaring package incidents at two Maryland state facilities yesterday.
There's no elaboration on that. We don't know if the similarities this official is referring to are simply the obvious ones, that you had an envelope that flared or whether there's something else here about the construction, about possible notes, about anything else that would appear to draw a connection.
But once again, initial reporting indicates this incident bears characteristics similar to the flaring packages to yesterday's package incidents at two Maryland state facilities yesterday.
Back to you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Similar characteristics. OK, we'll let you dig a little further with your sources and maybe try to figure out what specially they mean by that.
I have Mike Brooks here sitting to my left.
Similar characteristics?
BROOKS: Yes. And yesterday, basically what you had, they call it an electric match. And people can go ahead and Google what electric match looks like, and that's basically what it was. It was a battery -- a battery, a switch and a match. And it's -- it's an electric match. It's used to ignite some fireworks. It can be used to ignite explosives, but it's something that, yes, if there is some friction, possibly throwing this over in the corner of the mailroom, it could go ahead and set it off.
And I want to let you know, I got from one of my sources it said, we heard Eric Marrapodi, it's right there by Amtrak and MARC and we're right now we're in the middle of rush hour of Friday on the East Coast. There is no affect on the trains whatsoever. The MARC trains or Amtrak is running on schedule. I got that just as -- just want to let one of my sources wanted to let me know that there was no effect whatsoever with that.
But there's a lot of evidence they got yesterday.
BALDWIN: Actually, I'm being told we're going to sneak a break in. Keep that thought, I know I want to go there. We'll talk about the evidence, because this is fascinating.
Let's get a break in, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN. We're all over this breaking story here out of Washington, D.C. This is the 3300 block of V Street Northeast, and here's what we know.
We know that, according to Metro Police, there has been one envelope that has gone off inside of this U.S. Postal facility. According to Jeanne Meserve, also Mike Brooks sources it actually didn't go off. Unlike yesterday, it didn't go off in that employee's hands. It actually went off after that employee tossed that envelope into a bin.
And according to Jeanne Meserve, there are similar circumstances. Does that mean that the envelope looked alike or it had a similar sort of fiery flare and sulfuric smell? We don't know. Jeanne is working on that.
I want to bring Mike Brooks back in, former FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
This is your backyard, Washington, D.C., and we were talking a lot about what investigators can glean from the evidence from one of these envelopes.
BROOKS: What they'll do is, take this -- take the evidence from yesterday and from today and they'll send it down to the FBI lab in Quantico, the explosives lab. Explosives examiners will take a look at this, but they'll also, as we talked about, they'll be looking for hairs and fibers.
And one of the last places they send this is for fingerprint evidence. They sent it to the latent print because that really usually make as mess of the evidence because of the different dyes and things they use to try to lift any prints off of that.
But one of the other things, too. Keep in mind, most government agencies, Brooke, they have security people, investigators --
BALDWIN: Of course.
BROOKS: -- that will take a look at any letters that, let's say, would come to Governor O'Malley from yesterday, and they keep a letter file. The U.S. Secret Service does the same thing, the FBI does and they share information.
And as we know, yesterday there was a handwritten note.
MESERVE: Yes, Dan, let's pull that shot up, if we can. We have the picture of the handwritten note. There's the picture of outside of that envelope. Here's the outside of the envelope and this individual didn't actually handwrite it, but here is what was inside one of those envelopes, either from Annapolis or Hanover. And you can see, handwriting, which, I imagine, is also key.
BROOKS: Right. And it says, "Report suspicious activity! Total bull. You have created a self-fulfilling prophecy," with an X.
So what they can do is, they'll go back and say, OK, have we received any letters, any threat letters, any nuisance letters if you will, from anyone with this kind of handwriting, this kind of vernacular, this kind of letters that they used. And they'll go back and they'll take a look and there is a database that they keep --
BALDWIN: Similar language.
BROOKS: Exactly. And they'll go back and take look at that. Maybe also they'll take a look at the paper, they'll take a look at the envelope. Because I can tell you, the FBI, they have a library of all kinds of different envelopes, papers. I had a letter bomb case back a number of years ago. We had five letter bombs sent to Washington, D.C. They were able to go back and figure out exactly where that greeting card, it was a bomb made out of a greeting card, they were able to figure out where that greeting card came from.
So they have a lot of resources, and you know, other federal agencies also have different labs that they can draw upon. But the FBI, they do have a great lab.
And also, U.S. Postal inspectors, they are also key in this investigation, because they know the Postal Service better than anyone, and they'll be working. And there's a Postal inspector on the FBI Joint Terrorism Taskforce, so he or she will take a look at everything, too, cause you can glean a lot from where it was cancelled, from the postmark, the date, the time and also that little barcode gives you at the bottom gives you a lot of information about when and where that letter or parcel was mailed from.
BALDWIN: So those are the little bits and pieces and clues that they'll all be looking at.
BROOKS: And a lot more, I don't want to give up too much.
BALDWIN: Right, of course, and I don't want to ask you to do that.
But I'm just going to sit here and let's just watch also some of the scene video. We were talking to Eric Marrapodi, one of our producers who hopped on scene, and he said there had been an uptick in police presence, FBI, joint task force, obviously Metropolitan police, they're all there responding.
BROOKS: And one of the other things, too, after -- since there were no injury, you had a small fire and you had an odor. So D.C. Fire Department, they have -- they're basically setting up, a hazmat response for them. Because you don't know, you never know and can't always -- can't assume anything in a situation like this, Brooke. You always assume that could there have been something else mixed in with this that could create a hazardous atmosphere.
BALDWIN: And also, could there be other envelopes.
BROOKS: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Our language was very careful, it's at least one.
BROOKS: Exactly. And they'll go in and also they have meters to take readings to make sure there's no hazardous atmosphere. And if anyone needs to be decontaminated, they have the hazmat response with special operations unit of the D.C. Fire Department and they'll take care of all that. If any patients, anyone is feeling any burning, that kind of thing, they'll treat them as needed.
BALDWIN: Guys, do we still have Eric Marrapodi? Is Eric Marrapodi still available? Eric Marrapodi is there for us right there on V Street northwest in Washington. Eric, explain to the people who aren't quite as familiar with this part of Washington, this is nowhere near the national mall, nowhere near the monuments. It's fairly residential. Correct?
MARRAPODI: You're right. This is a mix of sort of residential on one side and the industrial on the other. I mentioned, we're in an area in Washington, D.C. that's big enough to house a fair distribution plant. That gives you a sense of the scale of how industrial this area is.
We're probably three or four miles as the crow flies away from, sort of the monument district where you see the monument district, the White House, the capitol. We're very much a distance away, one of the reasons they said up these screening areas so far away from the critical pieces of infrastructure here in Washington.
BALDWIN: What about, Eric, the significance of this particular postal facility? Tell me again the mail that comes into this facility goes where? MARRAPODI: Well, you'll remember, after the anthrax attacks, when congressional officers and media folks were getting anthrax letters, the government sort of pulled an audible if you will in how they handle that mail service.
Now a lot of that mail, residential mail that comes in, comes to this facility, gets sorted and goes out to congressional and Senate office buildings. So that's why this facility sorts this out, just in the event something like this happened, it doesn't disrupt the regular business of Washington, as it were in that more critical area.
BALDWIN: Final question, then we need to get a break in. In the past few moments that you've been there, have you seen anyone else coming or going from with that building other than people in an official capacity? Have you seen any eyewitnesses?
MARRAPODI: Yes. It's been a steady stream of officials in and a trickle of sort of regular folk in this neighborhood out. I spoke to one woman leaving in an adjacent building. I asked did she work in the post office? She said, no, across the street. Holding a pizza box saying her build ago cross the street had not been evacuated and was just on her way out for the day.
So it's some sense in this area, they're trying to deep as much business as usual as possible, but obviously, very serious from a lot of perspectives, as we can see from the live pictures.
BALDWIN: Absolutely. We cannot underscore that enough. Eric Marrapodi, thank you so much.
Let's get another break in. CNN will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN. We are staying on our breaking news here out of northeast Washington as there are pictures coming in. What you're looking at is this U.S. postal facility. This is the 3300 block V Street and we know of at least one envelope that has gone off inside of this particular postal facility.
And obviously that means we need to have, you know, joint terrorism task force, FBI. You have fire department, metropolitan police, et cetera, are there.
Also joining me on the line is Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger from Maryland and also on the House Intel Committee. Congressman, given what happened yesterday in your home state, in both Hanover and also Annapolis and now this, it's frightening.
REP. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, (D) MARYLAND, (via telephone): Let me say this. The initial segment of this is likely related to the incendiary devices in Maryland. The good news is that no injuries. The fire is out. Hazmat, FBI are on the scene, and we have a situation here we're going to have to deal and address.
I'm concerned. At first I thought this could be a lone wolf, and it still might be, but there's certainly a pattern here we're going to have to deal with.
BALDWIN: You are saying the two incidents in Maryland yesterday and the one we're watching unfold here in Washington are likely related. Sir, let me ask you about what happened yesterday.
RUPPERSBERGER: Yes.
BALDWIN: What are you hearing as far as a motive?
RUPPERSBERGER: We don't -- the motive that we know and because there's evidence that has come out of, it was classified but it's not anymore, the individual was upset about the fact that there's signs at least on the Baltimore beltway that if you see anything suspicious, contact, you know, your authorities. And there was concern about that.
Now, the one incident that today, the envelope that was found at the facility -- by the way, that system is set up because of the anthrax issue from years ago.
BALDWIN: Right, right.
RUPPERSBERGER: And basically, it seems that initial observation that these packages are the same. Now, there's a lot of investigation that has to occur and, remember, the first issue you deal with is safety of your citizens, safety of the people in the mailroom. So that's the first phase of this.
The second phase is working with federal, state, and local government, getting intelligence information, not only in this region, this state, in the world to see whether or not this happens to be a conspiracy or a terrorist-type operation such as Al Qaeda. So there's a lot of work. We have very good people there, and the FBI now will be working with the local metropolitan police department and also Washington, D.C.
BALDWIN: And the good news, what we hear from our sources from yesterday's incidents there is all kinds of evidence that will hopefully lead to some sort of arrest of this individual or individuals. Congressman, thank you so much for calling in. We really appreciate it.
And I also want to let you all know we are hearing there will be some sorts of news conference held any moment now. We don't want to miss that. Let's get a break in. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN. We have just got word we are expecting any moment now. In fact, guys, let's put that picture up where we are expecting that news conference to happen. There's microphones. I saw a couple reporters getting a white balance. Hopefully that means it's imminent.
We're expecting to hear from the metropolitan police chief Kathy Linear to hopefully give us a little more information on what's happened.
Here is what we know at CNN. We know there has been at least one envelope that ignited inside of this U.S. postal facility. This is the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. So if you know this area, this is the 3300 block of V street.
And according to some of our sources, what happened was one of the postal employees inside was handling some envelopes, tossed one envelope in a bin, and then that envelope ignited and that employee started smelling smoke. It was a tad different from what we saw yesterday. Obviously, the timing very significant. This is just one day after those two incidents yesterday we were reporting. One being in Annapolis, in one of government buildings there, and then one at the MDOT headquarters, Maryland Department of Transportation headquarters in Hanover, Maryland.
So again, we're watching and waiting for the news conference to happen. I have Mike Brooks sitting next to me, former FBI, former terrorism tax force, D.C. police, you name it.
BROOKS: You got it. I was actually the D.C. police rep on the FBI Joint Terrorism task force for years.
BALDWIN: So you know the area we're talking.
BROOKS: Absolutely, yes.
BALDWIN: And it's important to reinforce to people who don't know this area of Washington, this is farther away from the tourist areas. This is fairly industrial, fairly residential. What else can you tell me?
BROOKS: As Eric Marrapodi, the producer on the scene said, you've got Amtrak trains running alongside it there. Again no affect to the trains at all. You've got the commuter trains. New York Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, kind the two main roads that's between.
But it's mostly industrial. We see a lot of warehouses, distribution centers with some houses and a couple little grocery stores and liquor stores thrown there. You know, it's part of the neighborhood there.
BALDWIN: Let me also reiterate, this is huge from Maryland congressman I just spoke to, he told me, also on the House Intel Committee, he said, according to his sources the incidents yesterday in Maryland and what we're looking at unfolding in Washington are, to quote him, "likely related."
BROOKS: Right. That's what I was hearing, too, earlier on as we talked a little about this, Brooke. I'm also hearing at break that they are bringing in other EOD, explosive canine dogs going through the facility to make sure there's no other hazardous material around that area, and also bomb techs from the FBI and from the metropolitan police. This is D.C. jurisdiction. This is not the fifth district of the metropolitan police force.
BALDWIN: That's why we hear.
BROOKS: Exactly. So they have the technicians, the main responsibility for the city. They are there also on scene along with the hazardous materials unit from the D.C. fire.
BALDWIN: We know the building of course has been evacuated. According to Eric Marrapodi there on the scene, the surrounding buildings where business as usual have not been evacuated. But just as yesterday you mentioned those robots some of these groups will send in. They want to make sure they render that envelope safe.
BROOKS: You're one of the only people I heard, journalists that I know that says "render safe." They always say, "they blow it up." No, they render it safe because they don't usually blow it up. You're absolutely right.
And if there's anything at all they don't want is a tech to go down range. As a bomb tech you never want to put your hand on an -- on a suspicious package if you don't have to. That's why you've got these robots. Send them down. You can look at it, manipulate it. And if it's coming through the mail, you can take something and throw it around, and usually it will go.
But this one, it did. It was because of the makeup of this -- we're calling them electric matches -- that it could be susceptible to shock or friction. And that's why it did go off, apparently when the worker threw it over into a bin.
BALDWIN: You know, according to this congressman we just spoke to out of Maryland saying, yes, the incidents yesterday are likely related to what we're watching unfolding here, so I think it's important, if we can, to revisit what happened yesterday.
And Dan, let's throw up the picture.
We've got these two pictures which I think could be key here. First, we have the picture of the outside of that envelope, and a book size, a VHS tape, with those five holiday postage stamps.
Here it is. And then on the marking sort of in the middle, you have the typed -- who they were sending this particular one to. This was the one that was found in Annapolis, that mailed to Governor Martin O'Malley. And then -- so then from looking at this, then what?
BROOKS: Well, they're going to take a look at this. And some people may say, well, why didn't this come to this mail facility yesterday? It could have been there yesterday. It depends where it was postmarked and where it was coming from, because it can take a number of days, depending form where it's being mailed, you know, the origination point, where somebody put it into the mail box or took it to a post office.
And these are all things that the postal inspectors, along with the FBI, are going to be taking a look at. Where was this mailed from? Was it mailed from a post office? And if so, go back, there's some surveillance footage. If not, maybe talk to the original postman who picked it up from maybe a mailbox or a mail drop facility. It's all part of the investigation that's going on as we speak from the two incidents yesterday.
BALDWIN: And then also, Dan, let's throw up the picture from inside. You can actually see it singed.
It was this handwritten note. It's singed, and it says, "Report suspicious activity, total (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You have created a self-fulfilling prophecy" And it's signed with an "X." It's signed from that -- you know, ignited from one of the incidents yesterday.
And so what they do, Mike Brooks, as you're checking your BlackBerry and getting some information -- go ahead and glance down -- I know that, as you were explaining what they do, is they take a look at some of the handwriting they have on file, any kind of -- we'll call it odd letters in the past that perhaps would be directed to the governor or any other -- someone in their official capacity to see if these might match. Correct?
BROOKS: Right, exactly. And I'm also getting from some of my sources that it does, again -- does look the same as the two yesterday.
BALDWIN: Look meaning in appearance?
BROOKS: Appearance. Same kind of -- same kind of packaging, if will you, this kind of thing. And that the Washington field office, they have an evidence response team.
I was one of the team leaders for the evidence response team. They're the ones that you see at a number of other incidents where you have a kidnapping or something. You'll see them and it will say "FBI" or "Evidence Response Team."
They are working with the D.C. Police Bomb Squad to retrieve any evidence from that scene, because, basically, after you have that fire there, that is considered a crime scene, and they will treat that, as we used to say, as basically a post (ph) blast scene. Even though it's not an improvised explosive device, it's considered an incendiary device. But they will collect all of the evidence there, speak to everyone who either saw that package first, who handled whatever the parcel was, and this will all be part of the team.
BALDWIN: OK.
BROOKS: They will collect all that and, as I said, take it down to the FBI lab in Quantico.
BALDWIN: So, the incident today, we are now hearing, likely related to the two incidents yesterday in Maryland. And also from your sources, from your BlackBerry, you're getting that in appearance, the envelopes from yesterday look a whole heck of a lot like this envelope here at this U.S. postal facility in northeast Washington. Again, we're waiting for this news conference. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier will be updating us here, hopefully momentarily, as I sneak a peek up to see if she's there. She is not.
Let get a break in. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN.
We are getting some new information here on this breaking story under way there. A lot of flashing lights. This is outside of a U.S. postal facility in northeast Washington, 3300 block of V Street.
We have confirmed that at least one envelope has ignited after an employee sort of tossed it into a bin.
Want to go to Jeanne Meserve for me in Washington.
Jeanne, what are you learning?
MESERVE: Well, we've just heard from a government official that the package -- and its singular in this particular communication -- that the package was addressed to Janet Napolitano. That is the secretary of Homeland Security. A very interesting development here.
Yesterday, the Maryland packages which we don't know for sure if they're connected, but we're hearing from several sources that the initial indication is that there is similarity between the two -- those packages yesterday were addressed to the governor of Maryland and the Maryland Department of Transportation. And the theorizing by officials was that this was somebody who was aggravated about those signs over the highway that say "Report suspicious activity."
If, indeed, this package is related to those, this addressed to Janet Napolitano, it may indicate that the individual or individuals responsible for these packages, if they are one and the same, may have a broader gripe. The Department of Homeland Security has recently been pushing very hard on a program called See Something, Say Something. The idea is, if you see something suspicious, tell somebody in authority about that so they can check it out.
The idea is that every citizen should be eyes and ears. They saw it pay off in Times Square, where a vendor was the one who saw a smoking vehicle, and it turned out to be an explosive device. And that helped prevent a tragedy in Times Square.
But this program, See Something, Say Something, which has been pushed out recently to more transit systems, to Wal-Mart stores, has been somewhat controversial. There have been those who have likened it to big brother, who do not like the tone of the program.
And I should remind you what that note said that they found in those packages in Maryland yesterday. It said, "Report suspicious activity. Total (EXPLETIVE DELETED. You have created a self- fulfilling prophecy." So we don't know -- we haven't connected all the threads yet, but this could be another dimension to whatever this individual or individuals' complaint is.
Back to you.
BALDWIN: Sure. And it's important to point out, Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, just returning home yesterday, sort of touring the world -- in the Middle East, also Europe. So that is significant, if, indeed, these are connected. And we are hearing from a congressman who was just on the air with me, on the House Intel Committee, saying likely, likely related.
Also, Jeanne, what are you learning, if anything, about the similarities in the appearance of today's envelope versus yesterday?
MESERVE: We have not gotten any specifics on that at all.
BALDWIN: OK.
MESERVE: I heard the congressman from Maryland tell you the initial observation was that these packages were the same, but we don't know the specifics yet as to what he means. We do have quite a specific description of what those packages yesterday looked like, but we don't know yet about the package today. Hopefully we'll learn more in the upcoming press conference.
BALDWIN: All right. Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much.
And as Jeanne just mentioned, we are watching and we are waiting for this news conference. Expected to speak, Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier. We could hear from her any moment now.
Let's sneak a quick break in. CNN breaking news.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to CNN.
I want to bring back in Tom Fuentes, who's been good enough to hang on the phone line. He is retired FBI, CNN contributor.
And Tom, what do you make of the fact that Jeanne Meserve just reported from her sources that this particular envelope at this facility in northeast Washington was addressed to Janet Napolitano?
TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (via telephone): Well, I think that assuming the incidents are related, it indicates that the investigation will have to be expanded to not just include someone with a gripe against the state of Maryland, but also federal security services. Secretary Napolitano heads the largest security department in the U.S. government, and is in the highest profile position as such. So, you know, we have someone here now, if the devices are related, who really wants to take on a number of agencies and government authorities.
BALDWIN: This is not simply perhaps a gripe about those Maryland highway signs, as someone was saying earlier.
Tom, thank you so much.
And if I could just end, last final moments here with Mike Brooks.
And you were just getting information from your sources.
BROOKS: Yes. Law enforcement sources close to the situation there on the scene are saying that they do believe it is connected with the two incidents yesterday. And as of right now, at the postal facility there on V Street Northeast in Washington, they found only one suspicious package so far, but they are looking. But right now, they're clearing the area, but they've only found one right now, Brooke.
BALDWIN: And again, I think it's just worth reiterating, unlike yesterday, how this one particular package went off.
BROOKS: Exactly. No one was handling it. It apparently was being put into a bin. And it is susceptible, apparently, to shock, even though it's been sent through the postal system. And --
BALDWIN: That was interesting.
BROOKS: Very interesting. But it could be just the way it landed, and maybe the makeup of this, what they're calling an electric match.
BALDWIN: An electric match.
BROOKS: Right.
BALDWIN: So, as opposed to yesterday, as we saw in Annapolis and in Hanover, where somebody was handling it and somebody was opening it up, according to a spokesperson for Maryland s State Police, there was a bit of a flame, it ignited, and there was a smell of sulfur. So we don't know yet if that is exactly what this particular employee saw when they tossed it in the bin.
BROOKS: But that's what we're hearing though from the sources there, that there was a sulfur odor, and with a little bit of thermal (ph), a little fire. But no one was injured, and apparently no hazardous material situation. We saw a lot of people from the D.C. Fire coming outside.
BALDWIN: And again, another similarity, obviously the fact that this is another postal facility. The other buildings were government buildings. One was MDOT, Maryland Democrat of Transportation, in the mailroom, and the other was a state government building in Annapolis in that mailroom. And here we go, this U.S. postal facility.
BROOKS: Right, but this postal facility is the one that handles the mail that is destined for U.S. government buildings there in Washington.
BALDWIN: Federal government. And that also makes sense, that a package addressed to Homeland Security Secretary General Napolitano --
BROOKS: You got it.
BALDWIN: -- would be going for this particular facility.
BROOKS: You're absolutely correct. Also, U.S. Capitol, also the U.S. Supreme Court, and other government facilities. But that's why this system was set up after the anthrax attacks.
BALDWIN: Mike Brooks, you're fantastic for sitting with me for the last hour or so on this story.
BROOKS: Well, thank you. Absolutely. It's been a pleasure.
BALDWIN: We're going to hand off here to Wolf Blitzer, in "THE SITUATION ROOM," continuing to follow this story in his back yard there in Washington with "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
