The Daily Beast is reporting that prominent right-wing voices, some of whom have access to the Republican political elite, are already suggesting that the string of bomb attempts targeting prominent Democrats reported by law enforcement Wednesday morning is actually a liberal deception. Radio host Rush Limbaugh suggested the bombing attempts served a political “purpose.” He also noted that, “It’s happening in October. There’s a reason for this.”
Pursuing this argument, Limbaugh said, “there’s a smell test that this stuff has to pass, and, so far, a lot of people’s noses are in the air, not quite certain of what to make of this....Republicans just don’t do this kind of thing.”
Frank Gaffney, founder of the Center for Security Policy, tweeted:
None of the leftists ostensibly targeted for pipe-bombs were actually at serious risk, since security details would be screening their mail. So let’s determine not only who is responsible for these bombs, but whether they were trying to deflect attention from the Left’s mobs.
— Frank Gaffney (@frankgaffney) October 24, 2018
Simply on its own terms, Gaffney’s tweet makes little sense: Sending bombs through the mail always carries the risk of killing people, such as postal workers, even if the intended targets are unharmed.*
Michael Flynn Jr., son of the former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, tweeted that the “timing” of the bomb attempts against billionaire donor George Soros and Bill and Hillary Clinton was “awfully suspicious.” He later deleted the tweet.
These are all figures of the hard right, but they can’t be dismissed as marginal, at least not when Republicans are in power. Limbaugh has a a large audience and President Donald Trump has called into the show as a guest. Flynn Jr. participated in the transition between the Obama administration and the Trump administration. Gaffney is closely allied with current National Security Advisor John Bolton, who helped Gaffney overcome being banned from speaking at CPAC. In other words, these conspiracy theories are being spread by figures with connections to the highest levels of American government.
*Reporting since time of publication has indicated that at least one of the bombs may have been hand-delivered.