INVESTIGATORS and bomb squads were called to a post office in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday about a suspicious package sent to CNN, just hours before a court hearing for the man accused of sending packages containing explosive material to prominent Democrats.

The FBI said via its Twitter account that the recovered package was “similar in appearance to others” and confirms the announcement earlier in the day by CNN President Jeff Zucker, who said a suspicious parcel being sent to the network had been intercepted at an Atlanta post office.

Mr Zucker says all mail to CNN has been screened offsite since last week, when a series of package bombs began appearing around the country. One of those bombs was mailed to CNN offices in New York.

The latest suspicious package comes just hours before a federal court hearing was to begin in Miami for 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc, whom authorities accuse of sending explosive material to Democrats and other prominent critics of President Donald Trump.

At the same time Mr Trump only stepped up his attacks on the press, accusing the media of being “the true Enemy of People”.

Mr Trump tweeted: “There is great anger in our Country caused in part by inaccurate, and even fraudulent, reporting of the news.” He added that the media “must stop the open & obvious hostility & report the news accurately & fairly”.

The president’s comments follow a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue and a mail bomb scare targeting senior Democrats and CNN.

The election season violence has rattled a divided nation and prompted questions about whether Mr Trump should tone down his rhetoric.

The US president condemned the Pittsburgh attack as an act of anti-Semitism and has denounced political violence.

However, with eight days to go before the US midterm elections, he has continued to hold his political rallies, complete with harsh criticism of Democrats and the media.

Sayoc is accused of sending bubble-wrapped manila envelopes to Democrats such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.

The packages were intercepted from Delaware to California. At least some listed a return address of US Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chair of the Democratic National Committee. She represents the Florida district where the former male stripper, pizza driver and strip club DJ lived in an old van covered with bumper stickers praising Mr Trump, disparaging Democrats and CNN, and showing rifle crosshairs over liberals like Clinton and filmmaker Michael Moore.