Right now the secret service is investigating an envelope intended for the White House that has tested positive for deadly cyanide. The testing was done at an off-site mail screening facility on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Secret Service. The same envelope had tested negative to Cyanide on Monday after initial biological testing, but on Tuesday the chemical testing returned a presumptive positive for Cyanide. The envelope has been transported to another site for further testing.
The envelope was listed a return address for a man who the alert has a report with the Secret Service dating back to 1995, which includes sending a package covered in urine and feces.
The statement did not say whether the letter was addressed to President Obama or to someone else at the White House. Officials also declined to say whether something specific had led them to test the letter.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, the Secret Service will have no additional comment,” the statement said.
In the weeks after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a series of letters laced with anthrax were sent to members of the news media and public officials in the Washington area, including the White House and members of Congress, prompting weeks of anxiety. The anthrax killed five people and sickened 17 others, and officials eventually blamed a military scientist who later committed suicide.
As a result of those episodes, letters and packages destined for the White House are screened at remote locations to protect the president and his staff.
In 2013, federal agents arrested a man whom they suspected of sending letters laced with the poison ricin to Mr. Obama and a Republican senator. That case shook nerves in the capital and prompted the evacuation of some House and Senate office buildings.
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