Trump transition says cabinet picks, appointees were targeted by bomb threats, swatting attacks
CTV
A number of president-elect Donald Trump's most prominent cabinet picks and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and 'swatting attacks,' Trump's transition team said Wednesday. The FBI said it was investigating.
A number of president-elect Donald Trump's most prominent cabinet picks and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and "swatting attacks," Trump's transition team said Wednesday. The FBI said it was investigating.
"Last night and this morning, several of President Trump's cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them," Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The attacks ranged from bomb threats to swatting, in which attackers initiate an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretenses, she said. The tactic has become a popular one in recent years.
Leavitt said law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted and Trump and his transition team are grateful.
Among those targeted were New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's pick to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations; Matt Gaetz, Trump's initial pick to serve as attorney general; Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, whom Trump chose to lead the Department of Labor, and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
Law enforcement officials are also looking into whether Susie Wiles, Trump's incoming chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general whom Trump has chosen as Gaetz's replacement, and other incoming administration officials were also victims -- as well as how each was targeted, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity as the investigation continues.
Wiles and Bondi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
