House Homeland Security Chair Reveals Details Of FBI Investigation On Boston

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

SAHIL KAPUR 6:28 PM EDT, TUESDAY APRIL 16, 2013

House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) offered some details on the investigation into the Boston bombings late Tuesday after an FBI briefing.

"The device itself has tracers with explosives," he said. "The device itself has built in ball bearings. There are signatures to these things and they can be traced back to the origin and so that forensics is taking place right now." He said he expects more information "in the next couple of days." Of the likely explosive material, he said, "Most likely it was black powder. Gunpowder."

He also explained how the FBI is approaching the investigation. "They were going down two ledes: one a possible cellphone detonation. The second would be a pressure cooker with a timer on it," McCaul said.

"The device is in [U.S. Marine Corps Base] Quantico, it's being reviewed for forensics. And they can do incredible stuff. So I'm very optimistic at the end of this forensics we're going to know a lot more about he origins of this bomb, where the materials came from. And that's going to shed a lot more light in terms of [whether the attack was] foreign or domestic." Asked if the two explosive devices were similar, he said, "My sense is they probably are."

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Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/house-homeland-security-chair-provides-details-of-fbi

[Historic NY]

1. Why is he giving a briefing.....

it should be up to an FBI spokesperson.

[freshwest]

2. Well, he is the House Homeland Security Chairman. Maybe that's it.

[pasto76]

5. this is not DHS jurisdiction

they basically manage transportation like airports and train stations. This is a criminal investigation. FBI all the way.

[freshwest]

7. Obama said DHS would be working with everyone. Just get it done, is all.

[Robb]

3. That's some serious word salad there.

[demwing]

21. You thought so?

What wasn't said seemed very revealing. Here are the buzz words:

"...we're going to know a lot more about he origins of this bomb."

"...where the materials came from."

"...foreign or domestic."

If they're telegraphing this much, I'd wager they already know these details, and are just confirming through forensics. Since they're tip-toeing around the domestic origin possibilities, I'll say that it probably is domestic. When have we ever hesitated to rattle our sabers at a foreign target? We love that stuff! We didn't do it here because we know better...

Also, when asked to confirm that the two were similar, the source said "My sense is they probably are." That's major league hedging.

They're similar, but also not. There's something unique about one or both.

[cartach]

25. Foreign or domestic? Good luck.

The origin of the pressure cooker,gunpowder,ballbearings etc.,has to be domestic. Why would the perpetrator[s] even think of obtaining these items from a foreign source and try to bring them into the country when they are relatively easy to obtain within the US? I don't think a forensic investigation of these items is going to tell them anything about the origin of the perpetrator[s] i.e.,foreign or home grown terrorists, which is what he seems to be implying.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. Kinda reminded me of something...

[truthisfreedom]

4. What possible motivation would the authorities have for revealing so much information so early?

It's not like the American public is in the streets demanding that the government reveal every last detail about the bombs.

[sharp_stick]

6. He's a Texas Congressman

they have to compete with Louis Gohmert, the king of bullshit yaking himself, for TV time. There's no way in hell this asshole would let a camera near him without a nonsense statement.

[freshwest]

8. He was pretty incoherent. Didn't learn anything from his statement. Meh.

[sharp_stick]

9. I know

I'd love to know about them secret traceable ball bearings myself.

[Blue State Bandit]

14. A metallurgic match could be traced back to manufacturer and batch...

Since it is claimed that gunpowder was used as the main explosive, it could have been from 12 gauge rounds. This would give investigators retailers and geographic locations that could put a guy at a counter with a case of these and a Crock-Pot (levity) putting it on a WalMart card (irony).

[Lasher]

22. I think the explosive was black powder.

That's the kind of gunpowder used in muzzle loading guns. Modern shotgun shells use a different kind of gunpowder.

[freshwest]

15. It was interesting that he noted traceable explosives. We've got a thread says the GOP blocked that.

[dkf]

10. What are "tracers with explosives"?

[Historic NY]

17. They are tell-tales that are incorporated into the mix of ingredients....

they help identify a batch of explosives. (ex) Sort of like soap powder with little specks in it you can tell who made what powder.

[dkf]

18. Thanks!

An earlier thread said the NRA blocked tracers so I was confused.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. I think the pol is confused

Taggant chips are not used in the US for either explosives or gun powder.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Hold it...the bills to put those tracers in after

OKC were never passed, iirc.

Nope, memory did not fail me

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950502&slug=2118763

[freshwest]

16. Thanks. Just added that factoid above...

The pictures from the UK do show an image of the remains of a pressure cooker with some manufacturing identification engraved into it. AFAIK, there is no individual identification on cooking implements the way there are on computers, etc.

They are amassing data faster than I imagined they would, but from the coverage, they are really all over this case. The sooner it's solved, the sooner the wild speculation will end.

Except from the CT crowd. As usual, they've already blamed Obama (insert agency or agencies of the evil gummint working for him) for it. Typical. They'd go broke if they lost their list of bogeymen.

[cartach]

26. I think you spelled something wrong there -

shouldn't it be gubbimint?

[freshwest]

27. I have friends who spell it gummint. It's more abrupt that way. Each to his own.

But both versions are misspelled, if one wants to get technical about it. I don't correct other posters in their grammar or spelling and have to get to bed. Enjoy yourself.

[elleng]

12. Don't know that there's more here than in pressers in Boston today,

but I could be wrong.

[slackmaster]

13. Good.

The investigation will be tedious but straightforward.

[BlueToTheBone]

19. Puffed from self importance. What a windy blowhard.

He's the House Homeland Security Chair and so he's just desperate to tell everything he knows. And what he doesn't he'll make up on the spot. What a moron.

[ananda]

20. Mike McCaul: smarmy sleazebag - R(eptile)-TX

Ick