Secret Service Investigating Who Brought Cocaine Into the White House The New York Times

Table Of Content

• Secret Service Investigating Who Brought Cocaine Into the White House
• Sign-up for Secret Service news straight to your mailbox.
• Secret Service Examining How Suspected Cocaine Ended Up at the White House
• Colin Jost headlines White House Correspondents' Dinner with cocaine, O.J. Simpson jokes
• Official Statement on the Investigation of a Substance Found in the White House
• Lab test confirms white substance found at the White House is cocaine

NBC reported the "blurry timeline" could make it difficult for investigators to identify a source. Additionally, investigators were considering the high volume of people who walk through the area. Tests later showed the powder was cocaine, according to reputable news publications. Lawmakers who attended the briefing confirmed that the Secret Service's investigation will conclude with no determination of who the cocaine belonged to, leaving Republicans exasperated and with more questions.

Secret Service Investigating Who Brought Cocaine Into the White House

Asked about the incident Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that the investigation is under the Secret Service's purview and said she is "confident" they will get to the bottom of the situation. CNN first reported that the investigation had concluded without finding a suspect. He, first lady Dr. Jill Biden and members of their family departed for Camp David on Friday.

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That decision could mean relegating the matter back to the lower courts to iron out certain aspects of the case, such as the distinction between private and official actions. Echoing the former president’s legal team, Eric Trump cautioned that without immunity protecting former commanders-in-chief, overzealous prosecutors could have a field day. The Trump scion further cautioned that if his father fails to win his bid for absolute immunity then the floodgates could be open to a flurry of prosecutions against other presidents. Later, in an email to Snopes, he confirmed the cocaine wasn't found in a library and was instead found "in an area of the West Wing." Comer, a Kentucky Republican, later said in a statement that the Secret Service needs to reassess its security operations to ensure illegal substances do not enter the White House. President Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden were not at the White House when the cocaine was found, as they spent the weekend at Camp David before returning for Fourth of July festivities.

Secret Service Examining How Suspected Cocaine Ended Up at the White House

Homeland Security’s National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center analyzed the item for any biothreats. Both of these analyses were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's crime laboratory given their expertise in this area and independence from the investigation. Testing conducted by the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department indicated that the found powder tested preliminarily positive for the presence of cocaine. Department of Homeland Security's National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, which analyzed the item for any biothreats. Tests conducted at this facility came back negative and gave formal confirmation that the substance was not biological in nature.

Eric Trump Suggests Biden Could Be Indicted for Cocaine Found in WH if Trump Loses SCOTUS Presidential Immunity Case

Secret Service Photos of Cocaine Found inside the White House – Documents Suggest the Cocaine Evidence Was Set ... - Judicial Watch

Secret Service Photos of Cocaine Found inside the White House – Documents Suggest the Cocaine Evidence Was Set ....

Posted: Tue, 14 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

News publications like CNN, The Hill, and the AP reported officials were working to identify who was responsible for bringing the substance into the federal building. According to the AP, Secret Service agents discovered the substance while doing a routine security scan of the building. NBC reported the drug was in a small, zippered bag, and that it was unclear how long it had been in the White House. We found social media posts that claimed the cocaine was found in various places around the White House, such as the above-displayed Facebook post that claimed it was found in an area where President Biden often worked.

Colin Jost headlines White House Correspondents' Dinner with cocaine, O.J. Simpson jokes

"Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered," the agency said. "At this time, the Secret Service's investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence." The Secret Service is not ruling out any White House personnel, guests or visitors.

Why the Secret Service closed its investigation of cocaine found at the White House without conducting interviews

For instance, the below-displayed post claimed the cocaine was found in an area often occupied by U.S. President Joe Biden, while other posts asserted that the drug was left behind by his son, Hunter Biden. Two senior law enforcement officials told CBS News that there was 207.6 milligrams, or .007 ounces, of cocaine discovered, according to an FBI analysis.

As the investigation continued, many posts claimed without evidence that the cocaine belonged to Hunter Biden, who previously discussed being addicted to crack cocaine in a 2021 memoir. The claim that the cocaine was found in the White House library was bolstered by initial reports stating the substance was found in a library, citing a dispatch call to D.C. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told The New York Times that the dispatch call was incorrect. The small plastic envelope was found in an area of the West Wing that visitors and staff members often pass through during the day. When staff members want to bring relatives or friends on tours of the West Wing, they usually do so at night and on the weekends. The White House "is subject to rigorous guidelines that include drug testing, and so we will take any action that is appropriate and warranted, pending the outcome of the Secret Service," Jean-Pierre told reporters, adding that she wouldn't "get into hypotheticals."

Lab test confirms white substance found at the White House is cocaine

The spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, also said that the agency had confirmed that the white, powdery substance found by an officer was cocaine, backing up the results of an early test by the Washington fire department. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter Wednesday asking Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to release information about where the cocaine was found. He also asked half a dozen questions about access to the White House, other instances of illegal drugs' being found in the complex and security procedures, requesting answers by July 14. Jean-Pierre reiterated that the cocaine was found in a heavily traveled area that visitors often transit and noted that staff-sponsored tours were held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The blurry timeline and the number of people who walk through the area where the cocaine was found could make it difficult to determine who was responsible, an official familiar with the investigation said. WASHINGTON — A formal lab test of the white substance found at the White House on Sunday has come back positive for cocaine, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Wednesday.

This response was designed to ensure that the found substance was not a chemical or radiological material that threatened the security of the White House. As such, the substance was field tested and preliminarily determined to not be a hazardous compound. Per tradition at any White House Correspondents' Dinner, the president was also the butt of several jokes. Jost focused mostly on Joe Biden's age, including claims that the Commander-in-Chief has grown senile in his golden years. Thought he faced a tough crowed at times, Jost also won laughs towards the end of his speech when he quipped that Johansson would individually greet every person at the dinner after the ceremony. He even dragged Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into the mix, tying the independent presidential candidate’s anti-vaccine stance to his 2024 campaign.

The substance had tested positive for cocaine on a preliminary field test, the official familiar with the investigation said Tuesday, and the formal lab test confirmed that result. He and his family were at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, not the White House, when the cocaine was discovered. In a review of recent years, the Secret Service found two incidents in which small amounts of marijuana were detected by Uniformed Division officers and reports were filed, Secret Service officials said.

President Biden was briefed on the investigation and said it is “incredibly important” for the Secret Service to determine how it got there. Forensic work on the cocaine bag continued Thursday, though officials are setting low expectations that they will be able to identify who left it. The Situation Room, located in the West Wing, where staffers would also drop their phones before entering, has been undergoing construction work and was not in use at the time the baggie was found, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week.

The saga over the cocaine began just before the Fourth of July, when the White House was temporarily closed after an "unknown item" was discovered by Secret Service officers on July 2. A preliminary test conducted by the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department soon after the substance was found indicated it was cocaine. The agency, along with the FBI, tested the packet to determine it was cocaine and looked for any fingerprints or DNA evidence. Video footage of the area where the baggie was found also provided no evidence to narrow the possible suspects beyond a list of roughly 500 staff members and visitors who passed through during a weekend earlier this month. A person familiar with the investigation said that the baggie was found near an area where guests are screened for security and leave their phones in small cubbies. The Secret Service would not say where exactly the substance was found in the lobby or whether the agency was working with the White House to review guest logs.

People familiar with the investigation say that the area is frequented so often by so many groups of people that it may be hard to find the person who left the baggie. The unusual breach of White House security was found July 2 when a uniformed Secret Service officer spotted a small plastic baggie in a storage cubby at the West Executive Avenue entrance on the ground level. Visitors, contractors, military personnel and staff members use the storage cubbies to drop off electronic devices and personal items not permitted in some areas of the West Wing. The vestibule is near the Situation Room, which is out of service for renovations; an alternative secure meeting room is being used for classified briefings during construction. It was found in a zip-close bag near an entrance where visitors taking tours are directed to leave their phones, the official said. The cocaine, contained in a small Ziploc bag, was found in a cubby used by visitors to store cellphones and other personal items before entering the West Wing.

Justices on the conservative-led high court appeared deeply skeptical about the claim of absolute presidential immunity, while simultaneously sounding leery about presidents having no immunity. Last July, Secret Service agents discovered a small baggie in a vestibule near the Situation Room and a floor below the Oval Office that they later concluded contained under a gram of cocaine. Eric Trump warned that if the Supreme Court brushes aside presidential immunity, prosecutors could line up a case against President Biden over last summer’s White House cocaine debacle. At the time of publication, there was no credible evidence to link the drug found in the White House to any individual or group, much less the president's son.

There was no surveillance video footage found that provided investigative leads or any other means for investigators to identify who may have deposited the found substance in this area. Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered. At this time, the Secret Service's investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence.