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'We Did It' letters eyed in NY bombing
#1
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 24 minutes ago

Capitol Hill offices received letters Thursday containing a photo of the Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and including the claim "We Did It."

The manila envelopes contained a photo of a man standing in front of the recruiting station before it was bombed. The photo was the kind commonly sent as a holiday greeting card, according to a Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation.

The message on the card: "Happy New Year, We Did It."

The envelope also contained a packet of approximately 10 sheets of paper that seemed to be a political manifesto railing against the Iraq war and a booklet. The aide didn't know what the booklet was. A second aide, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said similar letters arrived in as many as 10 offices.

Capitol Police, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service were investigating. In an e-mail to lawmakers, Capitol Police said the envelopes went through the standard security process. That process, which involves radiating incoming mail, can easily take a week or more, making it likely the letters were mailed well ahead of the bombing.

The small bomb caused minor damage to the New York military recruiting station before dawn Thursday and police were searching for a hooded bicyclist seen on a surveillance video pedaling away.

Each envelope was stamped with two $1 stamps and contained a white label with a return address, which the police did not identify in the e-mail. Police said the letters were safe and did not contain threats to lawmakers.

The man in the photo was thin, white with graying hair, wearing a striped flannel shirt and jeans, the Democratic aide said. A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing, confirmed some of the contents of the letters as described by the aide.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of an e-mail sent from the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to other lawmakers Thursday that reads:

"A few offices on the House side have received a letter today addressed to 'Members of Congress' with a picture of a man standing in front of the Times Square recruiting station that was bombed in New York today with the statement 'We did it.' He is standing in front of it with his arms spread out and he's attached his political manifesto."

The blast left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass door, twisting and blackening its metal frame. No one was hurt, but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device, though unsophisticated, could have caused "injury and even death."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080307/ap_o...HuPIKs0NUE
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#2
LA man questioned in Times Square blast rails on media coverage
03/15/08 12:29:18

A man authorities questioned and quickly cleared in connection with the bombing of a military recruiting station in New York's Times Square criticized the media's depiction of letters he sent to members of Congress.
David Karnes, a lawyer who lives in Hollywood, recounted what happened to him in a piece that ran in Saturday's op-ed section of the Los Angeles Times. He said he was relieved to be cleared of any connection to the March 6 bombing, but was disturbed at media accounts that labeled his letters an "anarchist manifesto" and "anti-Iraq war screed."

"Speaking out on political matters entails risks, but nobody should have to take the risk that the media will inflict personal damage without regard for innocence or content," Karnes wrote in the Times. "And while I can rest easy that my FBI file is clean, no such luck with Google."

Karnes was pulled over by FBI agents and had his home searched after members of Congress received anti-war letters that included a picture of him standing in Times Square with the words, "We Did It," printed below the photo. The envelopes, with Karnes' return address, had reached lawmakers the same day of the bombing, Karnes said.

It turned out that "We Did It" referred to the Democratic Party taking control of Congress in 2006.

Karnes said one investigator later told him he was "the unluckiest person in the world" to have his mailings arrive on the same day of the bombing.

Officials said the lengthy anti-war letters were sent to as many as 100 members of Congress. Karnes said he included the photo in the hope that it might grab their attention and get more people to actually read the 64-page pamphlet and 20-page "memo" he had included.

"The only ones to get it right," he said of his intentions, "were the law enforcement personnel who read what I actually wrote."

http://www.fresnobee.com/384/story/464886.html
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