State Dept. gets 'white powder' envelope

By Andrea Koppel
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An envelope containing a "white powder" was opened Monday in the suite of offices belonging to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, the State Department reported Monday.

The envelope was opened about 4 p.m. EST Monday, spokesman Richard Boucher said. Because it arrived through the U.S. postal system, officials said they assumed it had been irradiated and posed "no immediate health threat."

Officials said the envelope contained only the white powder, which had not been identified Monday night.

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The envelope bore a Texas return address, a senior State Department official said. He said he did not know what the postmark on the letter was or when it had been sent.

"We don't know if it's a hoax," the senior official said.