ANNAPOLIS, Md. (CBS4) – The FBI is conducting an investigation at a Republican campaign consulting and fundraising firm.

CBS Baltimore reports that agents are currently at the Strategic Campaign Group.

The FBI says that this is part of a Washington, D.C. field office investigation, but would not release further details. </s> BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The FBI quietly raided a Republican consulting and fundraising firm in Annapolis Thursday.

The FBI says this is part of a Washington D.C. field office investigation.

Agents have turned off elevator access to the third floor of 191 Main Street, where Strategic Campaign Group is housed, and used trash bags to cover the office windows while they gather evidence.

They came prepared with a warrant to search the office and take files.

WJZ cameras watched them come out of the building with full garbage bags.

The president of the firm tells our media partners at The Baltimore Sun that the federal investigation ties back to a 2013 Virginia gubernatorial campaign.

The company’s work on the campaign of Republican Ken Cuccinelli led to a lawsuit after he lost the election to Terry McAuliffe.

All the feds will say is that this is an active and ongoing investigation.

The Maryland Republican Party confirms it’s looking into the raid.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook </s> The FBI confirms agents are executing a search warrant at an office of a GOP fundraiser and consulting firm in Annapolis, the 11 News I-Team has learned., the I-Team has learned.The FBI used trash bags to cover a window at the third-floor offices of Strategic Campaign Group at 191 Main St.The firm is touted for pioneering the use of technology in political campaigns, and it represents GOP candidates nationwide.None of the building tenants, which include Annapolis lobbyists, said they know what the search is about. In addition, the office building neighbors also said they don't know why the FBI is interested in the office.The firm has been sued, and has been questioned by the Federal Election Commission concerning money raised by a political action committee linked to the firm that has been accused of using candidates' names to raise money without their permission.The I-Team's calls to the executives for the firm have not yet been returned. </s> (ANNAPOLIS, Md.) — The FBI has raided the office of a Republican consulting firm in Maryland in connection with an investigation into the 2013 Virginia governor's race.

The FBI confirmed Thursday it served a search warrant in Annapolis, Maryland, but declined to elaborate. Kelley Rogers, president of Strategic Campaign Group, told reporters the investigation relates to work the consultant did for former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the GOP's 2013 gubernatorial candidate.

Rogers told reporters that his firm settled a lawsuit brought by the Cuccinelli campaign after he lost the governor's race to Terry McAuliffe. Roger says the investigation appears to have stemmed from allegations in that lawsuit.

Cuccinelli told The Associated Press he has not been interviewed by law enforcement officials. He says he's curious to see where the investigation leads. </s> The FBI raided a Republican campaign consultant's Annapolis office Thursday, causing Maryland Republican lawmakers to say they will stop doing business with the firm.

Kelley Rogers, president of Strategic Campaign Group, said a half-dozen FBI agents arrived at his Main Street office about 8:30 a.m. with a warrant to search and seize records. The FBI confirmed it conducted a raid in Annapolis but would not say where. An individual carrying a backpack marked FBI was seen leaving the firm's office.

Rogers, whose firm has previously worked with campaign committees for Maryland House of Delegates and Senate candidates, said the FBI investigation concerns work the firm performed during the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial campaign of former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican. Rogers insisted the investigation did not involve Maryland politics and that the firm had done nothing wrong.

He said that if any clients want to be released from their contracts, he will free them.

Maryland Republicans quickly took him up on that offer. Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings, of Baltimore County, and House Minority Leader Nic Kipke, of Anne Arundel County, confirmed that campaign committees for GOP senators and delegates had hired the firm to raise money and do other work before the 2017 session. Both said their committees would not use the firm again until its legal issues were resolved.

"I'm shocked by what has come to light today and we will not be working with them on any new projects until the legal process is completed and they are cleared," Kipke said just hours after the raid.

Jennings said the company did satisfactory work last year but added that GOP senators haven't been in touch with the firm since the session ended last month.

"I think should we hire a company, we would look elsewhere," he said.

According to Rogers, his firm settled a civil suit brought by the Cuccinelli campaign after he lost the 2013 Virginia governor's race to Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Rogers said the investigation appears to stem from allegations brought in that suit.

The Cuccinelli suit alleged that Strategic Campaign Group and the associated Conservative Strike Force Political Action Committee — an independent group not affiliated with the candidate — raised about $2.2 million by assuring donors it would spend the money to help elect the GOP candidate. The suit alleged that the PAC and Strategic Campaign Group failed to follow through on promises of an extensive media campaign on Cuccinelli's behalf.

Rogers said his firm settled the dispute for what he recalls as $75,000. Press accounts put the amount at $85,000. Rogers insisted Thursday that the Cuccinelli campaign claims have no merit.

The GOP strategist and firm vice president Chip O'Neil spoke to reporters while FBI agents were still working in the office Thursday. Both spoke without lawyers present.

Rogers praised the professionalism of the agents and predicted the investigation would clear his name and that of the firm.

"The truth shall set you free," he said.

Rogers said agents arrived without notice and presented a search warrant. He said they took records and downloaded other information from the firm's computers.

FBI spokeswoman Lindsay Ram said the investigation is being conducted through the bureau's Washington field office, which has jurisdiction in the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. She said agents from the office sometimes cross over into other jurisdictions when the entity they are investigating has offices in multiple locations. She declined to provide more details. </s> On Thursday, social media reports began to circulate about an FBI raid taking place in Annapolis, Maryland. Jayne Miller of WBAL-TV first began to tweet about the execution of a search warrant on a GOP fundraising office, and what followed was plenty of speculation. However, the Baltimore Sun was able to gain basic confirmation of the raid’s existence from both the office being investigated (Strategic Campaign Group) and the bureau itself:

FBI spokeswoman Lindsay Ram said the investigation is being conducted through the bureau’s Washington field office, which has jurisdiction in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. She said agents from the office sometimes cross over into other jurisdictions when the entity they are investigating has offices in multiple locations.

Agents who executed the warrant seized files from the office, which is both a consulting and fundraising organization for some Republican candidates. There’s currently no indication that this raid has anything to do with the FBI’s Russia probe, unlike what Twitter seems to believe.

The Capital Gazette is reporting — at least according to the firm’s president, Kelley Rogers — that this raid is tied to the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial race. At the time, Strategic Campaign Group did work for former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who lost to Democrat Terry McAuliffe and sued the firm. Rogers says related allegations may have prompted this raid:

The Cuccinelli suit alleged that Strategic Campaign Group and the associated Conservative Strike Force Political Action Committee — an independent group not affiliated with the candidate — raised about $2.2 million by assuring donors it would spend the money to help elect the GOP candidate. The suit alleged that the PAC and Strategic Campaign Group failed to follow through on promises for an extensive media campaign on Cuccinelli’s behalf.

In 2014, the Washington Post uncovered the firm’s defendant status in the suit filed by Cuccinelli. The publication details how Strategic Campaign Group made calls on behalf of and controlled the Conservative Strike Force PAC, which Cuccinelli accused of pulling wool over his followers’ eyes via a “malicious ‘Scam PAC’ operation.”

Social media photos are currently circulating that show Strategic Campaign Group’s front windows covered in black plastic by the FBI. </s> FBI agents raided the office of a Republican consulting firm in Maryland on Thursday, in connection with an investigation into the 2013 Virginia governor's race.

The FBI confirmed it served a search warrant in Annapolis, but declined to elaborate.

Kelley Rogers, president of Strategic Campaign Group, told reporters the investigation relates to work the consultant did for former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the GOP's 2013 gubernatorial candidate.

Rogers told reporters that his firm settled a lawsuit brought by the Cuccinelli campaign after he lost the governor's race to Democrat Terry McAuliffe.

The firm's website describes Strategic Campaign Group as 'a full-service Republican political consulting firm able to design, manage, and execute every aspect of political and fundraising campaigns for Republican politicians, conservative political action committees, and conservative organizations of all kinds.'

The windows in the firm's doors leading into its third floor suite in a building on Main Street in Maryland's capital were obscured as FBI agents served the search warrant.

Rogers did not immediately return a phone call or email seeking comment.

Cuccinelli sued Strategic Campaign Group in 2014, alleging that the company and a political action committee duped donors.

Cuccinelli said the Conservative StrikeForce PAC raised $2.2 million in 2013, largely by promising donors the money would help Cuccinelli in his ultimately unsuccessful Virginia campaign against McAuliffe.

The PAC only gave $10,000 to Cuccinelli's campaign, which was heavily outspent by McAuliffe.

Cuccinelli's lawsuit described the StrikeForce PAC as being 'controlled by' Strategic Campaign Group. The company and the PAC settled with Cuccinelli in 2015, agreeing to pay his gubernatorial campaign $85,000.

The firm also did campaign work for Maryland Republican lawmakers.

Republican state legislative leaders said they wouldn't do further work with the firm unless it is cleared in the investigation.

'I'm shocked by it,' said Delegate Nic Kipke, the minority leader in the Maryland House of Delegates.

'All of the work they've done for me has been competent and of the highest ethical standards, and I have no reason to believe that they would do anything unethical.'

Senator JB Jennings, the Maryland Senate minority leader, said the firm had done work for the Senate Republican caucus.

'This came as an absolute shock to us, but we have not renegotiated a contract this year because no one has really gotten around to it, and so with this, we're just going to separate our relationship for now,' Jennings said.

Several political campaigns in recent years have complained of so-called 'scam PACs' that purportedly raise money to help a political campaign, but instead enrich consultants and others with the bulk of the funds.

Such groups have become more prevalent in recent years after a series of court rulings, including the US Supreme Court's Citizens United decisions, reshaped the campaign finance landscape and boosted the prominence of groups not directly associated with a candidate.

Cuccinelli said Wednesday in a statement to that he'd not spoken to any federal law enforcement officials about Strategic Campaign Group but is 'curious' to see where the case goes.

'It was my hope when we brought our lawsuit to cast light on the dark practices of scam PACs. I think we did that successfully,' Cuccinelli said.

'Any cleaning up of these practices would be good for our political system.

Rogers was a senior consultant to one-time White House party crasher and former reality television figure Tareq Salahi's run for Virginia governor in 2013, according to a campaign news release.

Rogers said on his company's website that he's worked for numerous Republican politicians at every level. </s> FBI agents executed a search warrant at a GOP consulting firm in Annapolis, Maryland, Thursday afternoon, setting off alarms for liberals and conservatives online who were convinced it was related to the Russia investigation.

The firms is called Strategic Campaign Group and it bills itself as a Republican campaign–winning operation that has “helped Republican candidates run for office at every level.” The Washington Post spoke to the firm’s president, Kelley Rogers, and he said agents collected documents related to its direct-mail and fundraising operations.

The lack of information in initial reports, combined with the FBI’s involvement, had the rumor mill churning on Twitter.

On the left, a connection was quickly “confirmed” between Strategic Campaign Group and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

On the right, it was initially seen as a sign of a “coup.”

Cernovich walked back the claim after reading the Post article linked above. It outlines Strategic Campaign Group’s fraught legal past. In 2014, the firm was sued by former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli. He said it ran a PAC that raised over $2 million dollars for his gubernatorial campaign but spent little of that money in support of him. The firm settled the civil suit for $85,000.

Indeed, Rogers, the firm’s president, confirmed in an interview with Capital Gazette that the FBI raid was related to the Cuccinelli allegations, not the tenuous-at-best links to Manafort. While the FBI confirmed it conducted a raid in Annapolis, it would not say where or the reasons why. </s> ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — FBI agents raided the office of a Republican consulting firm in Maryland on Thursday in connection with an investigation into the 2013 Virginia governor’s race.

The FBI confirmed it served a search warrant in Annapolis, Maryland, but declined to elaborate. Kelley Rogers, president of Strategic Campaign Group, told reporters the investigation relates to work the consultant did for former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the GOP’s 2013 gubernatorial candidate.

Rogers told reporters that his firm settled a lawsuit brought by the Cuccinelli campaign after he lost the governor’s race to Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Roger said the investigation appears to have stemmed from allegations in that lawsuit.

The firm’s website describes Strategic Campaign Group as “a full-service Republican political consulting firm able to design, manage, and execute every aspect of political and fundraising campaigns for Republican politicians, conservative political action committees, and conservative organizations of all kinds.”

The windows in the firm’s doors leading into its third floor suite in a building on Main Street in Maryland’s capital were obscured as FBI agents served the search warrant. Rogers did not immediately return a phone call or email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Cuccinelli sued Strategic Campaign Group in 2014, alleging that the company and a political action committee duped donors. Cuccinelli said the Conservative StrikeForce PAC raised $2.2 million in 2013, largely by promising donors the money would help Cuccinelli in his ultimately unsuccessful Virginia campaign against McAuliffe. The PAC only gave $10,000 to Cuccinelli’s campaign, which was heavily outspent by McAuliffe.

Cuccinelli’s lawsuit described the StrikeForce PAC as being “controlled by” Strategic Campaign Group. The company and the PAC settled with Cuccinelli in 2015, agreeing to pay his gubernatorial campaign $85,000.

Several political campaigns in recent years have complained of so-called “scam PACs” that purportedly raise money to help a political campaign, but instead enrich consultants and others with the bulk of the funds. Such groups have become more prevalent in recent years after a series of court rulings, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decisions, reshaped the campaign finance landscape and boosted the prominence of groups not directly associated with a candidate.

Cuccinelli said Wednesday in a statement to The Associated Press that he’d not spoken to any federal law enforcement officials about Strategic Campaign Group but is “curious” to see where the case goes.

“It was my hope when we brought our lawsuit to cast light on the dark practices of scam PACs.á I think we did that successfully,” Cuccinelli said. “Any cleaning up of these practices would be good for our political system.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Federal authorities have arrested one individual in connection with suspected explosives sent to top Democrats, former senior US officials and prominent critics of President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice said on Friday.

The news of the arrest came not long after authorities said two more suspicious packages were found on Friday, bringing the total number of suspect packages discovered over the past week to 12.

The name and location of the individual were not immediately disclosed, but officials are expected to provide additional details at a news conference later in the day.

The two new packages discovered on Friday were addressed to US Senator Cory Booker and James Clapper, the former US director of national intelligence.

There were also reports that a possible second package addressed to Clapper was discovered at a US mail facility in New York. Those reports have not been confirmed.

"This is definitely domestic terrorism, no question about it in my mind," Clapper told CNN. "This is not going to silence the administration's critics."

Prior to the arrest, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Friday that the Justice Department was dedicating every available resource to the investigation and "I can tell you this: We will find the person or persons responsible. We will bring them to justice."

In Florida, where the investigation was focused, local police and canine units joined federal investigators on Thursday to examine a sprawling US mail distribution centre at Opa-Locka, northwest of Miami.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Florida appeared to be the starting point for at least some of the bomb shipments.

"I am confident that this person or people will be brought to justice," Nielsen told Fox News Channel on Thursday.

The wave of parcel bombs has been denounced by authorities as terrorism and comes less than two weeks before US congressional elections. The results could alter the balance of power in Washington, DC.

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told MSNBC on Friday that the mail bombs were stoking fear across the county and that US leaders, including Trump, must reassure the public.

"Elected officials and others need to say that this is not who we are as a country," Warner said. "That would be a heck of a lot stronger if that message also came from the White House."

All the individuals targeted by the suspicious packages have often been maligned by right-wing critics. They included Democratic Party donor George Soros, former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The FBI said that at least five of the packages bore a return address from the Florida office of US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

There has been an outcry from Trump's critics, who charged that his inflammatory rhetoric against Democrats and the press has created a climate for politically motivated violence.

After first calling for "unity" and civil discourse on Wednesday, Trump lashed out again Thursday at the "hateful" media. His supporters accused Democrats of unfairly suggesting the president was to blame for the bomb scare.

"Funny how lowly rated CNN, and others, can criticize me at will, even blaming me for the current spate of Bombs and ridiculously comparing this to September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing, yet when I criticize them they go wild and scream, "it's just not Presidential!" Trump said on Twitter early on Friday.

Later on Friday morning, he tweeted that "this 'bomb' stuff" is slowing the momentum for Republicans in the leadup to the November 6 midterm elections.

"Republicans are doing so well early voting, and at the polls, and now this 'bomb' stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows - news not talking politics," he said, adding "Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans go out and vote!"

Authorities believe the packages, which were intercepted before reaching their intended recipients, all went through the US Postal Service at some point, news agencies reported, citing federal security sources. None detonated and no one has been hurt.

The devices were thought to have been fashioned from bomb-making designs widely available on the internet, a federal law enforcement source told Reuters news agency.

Still, investigators are treating the devices as "live" explosives, not a hoax, said James O'Neill, the New York City police commissioner.

Investigators have declined to say whether the devices were built to be functional. Bomb experts and security analysts say that based on their rudimentary construction it appeared they were more likely designed to sow fear than to kill.

The parcels each consisted of a manila envelope with a bubble-wrap interior containing "potentially destructive devices," the FBI said. Each was affixed with a computer-printed address label and six US "Forever" postage stamps, the agency said.

Two packages were sent to Waters and Biden. Others who received the bombs were former Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA director John Brennan, US Representative Maxine Waters of California, and actor Robert De Niro.

"I thank God no one's been hurt, and I thank the brave and resourceful security and law enforcement people for protecting us," De Niro said in a statement. "There's something more powerful than bombs, and that's your vote. People MUST vote!"
The Federal Bureau of Investigation raids a Republican fundraising firm in Annapolis, Maryland.