8 House Dems get letters, photo of New York recruiting station before bombing.

Eight House Democrats were mailed a letter and photo of a Times Square recruiting station in Manhattan before it was bombed this morning, according to House insiders.


UPDATE 2: A senior House aide suggested many more members than the eight Democrats originally believed to have received them could have gotten copies and suggested law enforcement officials do not know the full scope of how many missives were actually sent at this time.


The letter did not contain any specific threats against the lawmakers or the site, but the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI are now investigating the matter.


It was unclear which lawmakers received the letters or their party affiliation.



The letter was postmarked Feb. 28, a week before the explosion in New York.
The New York Times is reporting that the "improvised explosive device" used in the attack "was 'roughly similar' to the devices used in two earlier bombings at foreign consulates in Manhattan in 2005 and 2007."
UPDATE 1: The letters and pictures went to Democrats representing New York City-based congressional districts, according to House sources. It's unclear whether Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer received similar letters.


UPDATE 3. Aides to Schumer and Clinton said they were not aware of any such letters being received by their offices, but under screening procedures put in place for Congress following the October 2001 anthrax attacks, it may take several weeks before a letter actually gets to a member or senator's office. Five people died in that still unsolved attack.


UPDATE 4: This message was just sent to all congressional offices by the Capitol Police:


"Attention All Members of the Congressional Community



Within the past twenty-four hours, a number of letters have begun arriving at various Congressional Offices on Capitol Hill. The letters contain a reference to the military recruiting office in New York City. At this time, none of the letters received, have contained any threat to the Congressional Community or Members of Congress.



All of the letters have properly passed through Congressional mail security screening procedures before arriving at various Congressional Offices and have been determined to be safe. These letters can be identified in the following manner: * All envelopes received have all been manila in color and are approximately five inches by eight inches in size. * All envelopes have two (one dollar) stamps affixed to them and a white label with a return address. The United States Capitol Police want to preserve any possible evidence. Therefore, in the event that any envelopes arrive at your Congressional Office, please respond in the following manner: 1. Do not attempt to open the envelope. 2. Immediately contact the USCP Command Center at 22X-XXXX



The Command Center will have an officer dispatched to your office to take possession of the letter. Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, please do not forward this email or release information outside your immediate office."


http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0308/8_House_Democrats_get_letterspic_of_NY_recruiting_station_before_bombing.html

And it is interesting the House Dems received threatening letters and not the House GOPs.