Bombing Suspect Charged, but National Nerves Remain Frayed
*By Carlo Versano*
After a week of political finger-pointing and frayed national nerves ahead of a major election, a Florida man is in custody on federal charges that he sent at least 13 live explosive devices to prominent former and current Democratic officials, a news organization, a Hollywood actor, and liberal donors.
The latest device was intercepted in California, en route to Tom Steyer, a Democratic donor who has spent millions advocating for Trump's impeachment.
Federal authorities announced the arrest of Cesar Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Fla., at the end of a week that began with a crude pipe bomb being discovered in the mailbox of George Soros, a left-leaning philanthropist vilified by the right.
As more bombs were found ー from the leafy suburbs of New York City to sprawling mail sorting facilities in Delaware ー and buildings evacuated, it became clear that a serial bomber was using the U.S. postal service to harm opponents and critics of the president and instill fear in a country wracked by political polarization just under two weeks before a pivotal U.S. election.
"This is a law and order administration," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions, announcing the five counts against Sayoc, which include mailing explosives and making threats against former presidents.
"We will not tolerate such lawlessness," Sessions said. He added that Sayoc "appears to be a partisan."
FBI Director Christopher Wray said investigators were able to pull a fingerprint from one of the two devices mailed to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), which, along with other pieces of DNA, matched Sayoc's DNA from a prior arrest. "Today's arrest doesn't mean we're out of the woods," Wray said, cautioning that more devices may still be undiscovered in the postal system.
Wray made a point of saying that the devices were "not hoax devices" but real explosives. He would not comment on whether any were "functional." It was unclear if Wray was reacting to President Trump, who earlier lamented that the "'Bomb' stuff," using quotations around "bomb," was hurting GOP momentum going into Election Day.
Conspiracy theories have flooded the internet positing that the mail bombs were a "false flag" operation. "False flag" believers, including some high-profile conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, have speculated that the mail bombs were sent by a Democratic sympathizer who wanted to villainize Republicans in the eyes of voters going to the polls.
At least one of them, Geraldo Rivera, backed down after hearing the charges against Sayoc on Friday afternoon: "Never mind; outsmarted myself in conjuring false flag operation designed to hurt @realDonaldTrump & #GOP," he wrote in a tweet. "Actual alleged perp 56-year old #CesarSayoc is apparently stereotype most media assumed: a middle-aged, rabid, extreme right winger w a troubled past & long criminal record."
Sayoc was arrested at an Autozone store in the Miami suburb of Plantation, Fla. Cheddar's J.D. Durkin was there and spoke to the manager of a nearby business who witnessed the arrest. Tom Fiore, the president of West Broward Community Management, told Durkin he knew it was tied to the nationwide manhunt when he saw members of the NYPD in Florida.
Erin Blake, a senior political reporter at the Washington Post who has been following the story all week, told Cheddar that "all the evidence seems to be pointing in the right direction." With the threat subsiding, Blake said, this is a good time to figure out "who we are as a country."
Sessions, Wray, and other federal authorities praised the coordinated response and investigation. Trump added his plaudits for law enforcement on Twitter, though Blake said he doubted the events would lead to much of a cooling off period in terms of the heated political rhetoric, adding, "The president has shown that he is not terribly chastened by this whole thing."
President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the fourth time this year. Biden and Putin spoke for two hours about the massing of Russian troops and materials near the Russian border with Ukraine. Various outlets have reported that the U.S. has intelligence that Russia could be planning an invasion of Ukraine in the next few months. Both countries said the call was productive, but the situation remains tense.
Hagar Chemali, foreign policy expert and host of "Oh My World!" on YouTube, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
A recent Wall Street Journal poll indicated that Hispanic voters are up for grabs for the upcoming midterm elections, with 41 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Democrats and 44 percent for Republicans. Bryanta "Bre" Maxwell, a Democratic Strategist, former political director for Jaime Harrison's senate campaign, and principal and CEO of Indigo Consulting, LLC, joined Cheddar to break down the numbers and to dive into what this specific electorate is looking for as the balance of power in Congress hangs in the balance in 2022.
Vice President Kamala Harris received impressive amount of media coverage in January for making history. However, the media attention waned significantly and some are now even saying she has almost disappeared from public view. Reecie Colbert, founder of BlackWomenViews Media, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more.
If you thought you heard the last of the Mueller report back in 2019, you'd be wrong. While the bombshell report was the biggest story in Washington for years, much of the report remained redacted. Our friends at BuzzFeed News weren't satisfied, so they sued to have certain passages unredacted. They notched another win when a federal appeals court ordered ten passages from the report to be released.
Matt Topic, BuzzFeed's attorney in the case, and Jason Leopold, reporter at BuzzFeed News, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The U.S. reported its first confirmed case of the omicron variant in California on Wednesday. Scientists and health officials are racing to understand the variant, with the WHO saying it's still too early to determine whether it's more contagious, more deadly or more resistant to vaccines than other variants. Omicron has pushed members of the WHO to commit to start talks over a "gobal pandemic treaty" for future pandemic preparedness.
Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Wednesday was not a good day for those who believe in abortion rights in this country as the Supreme Court heard arguments on a Mississippi abortion law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The majority of the court appears poised to roll back abortion rights, and the questions from the conservative justices seemed to indicate the law for nearly 50 years is likely to change.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of Rewire News Group, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss Wednesday's hearing.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has been busy since completing his prison sentence in November. He's getting into the NFT space, selling his federal prison badge and the original manuscript of his book "Disloyal" as NFTs. Cohen joined Cheddar to discuss his latest venture and why he thinks there is still much to be revealed about his case.
Jonathan Adler, Law Professor at Case Western Reserve University, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Tuesday's ruling and provide legal context to recent battles over vaccine mandates.
Carlo and Baker wrap up the week talking about the Biden economic boom that no one seems to notice, a verdict in the Jussie Smollett case, the first Starbucks union in America and the pleasures of the "dude nod."
