Wait, what? Reports of cocaine found in the White House?
Well, it’s true, and perhaps with this administration, not unbelievable.
Of course, the prime suspect, the President’s former and perhaps current drug-addicted son, Hunter, has been to the White House recently, but he seems a less likely culprit as the facts continue to emerge.
The story broke days ago with reports that the White House was evacuated on Sunday when Secret Service agents found a bag of white powdery substance:
The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday evening while President Joe Biden was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing, and a preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine, two law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Secret Service agents were doing routine rounds on Sunday when they found the white powder in an area accessible to tour groups, not in any particular West Wing office, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The complex was evacuated at about 8:45 p.m. Sunday as fire and emergency crews were brought in to do a rapid test, which preliminarily identified cocaine. The White House was soon reopened and the powder was sent for further testing.
That was the original story, from the Associated Press on July 4, which notes the location where the substance was found as “an area accessible to tour groups.”
The location, of course, is key, since if it was found in a more publicly-accessible area, it can be ignored and laughed off by the Biden administration as having been brought in by someone from the outside, perhaps on a tour of the grounds.
However, the story then changed on Thursday when NBC News reported that the substance was found in a “cubby” near the White House’s West Executive entrance:
Multiple officials involved in the White House cocaine inquiry now say the bag of powder was found in a cubby near the White House’s West Executive entrance, not the formal West Wing lobby, as was previously reported.
Investigators expect to be done with the investigation by Monday, said two sources familiar with the investigation. The inquiry had previously been expected to take a couple of weeks.
In updating where the cocaine was found, officials said that area was also heavily trafficked.
The cocaine was found in an entrance area between the foyer and a lower-level lobby, the sources said. The entrance is near where some vehicles, like the vice president’s limo or SUV, park. It is one floor below the main West Wing offices and on the same floor as the Situation Room and a dining area.
The location of the substance seems to keep changing as the story progresses and great pains are being taken to try and describe the location in a way that attempts to imply it came in from the outside or from the public.
The New York Post clarifies the location a bit as being much closer to the White House Situation Room than previously reported:
The bag of cocaine found in the West Wing of the White House was located near the Situation Room and one floor below the Oval Office — as a Biden administration spokesman declined Thursday to rule out first son Hunter Biden as the source of the illicit drug.
The dime-sized bag of white powder was found Sunday night in an entrance area cubby located between a foyer and a lobby, near where some official vehicles park — such as the vice presidential limo or SUV, NBC News reported.
An official close to the matter previously told The Post that the cubby is used by both White House employees and visitors to store phones and personal items that are not taken into other parts of the complex.
The basement entrance is one of two to the West Wing and is located on the same level as the Situation Room and White House Mess. The other entrance, located on the first floor, leads to a more formal lobby steps from the Roosevelt Room, Cabinet Room and Oval Office.
So, was it Hunter Biden’s cocaine found in the White House? Wouldn’t that be a little on the nose?
Besides, Hunter usually goes on his drug binges typically half-nude and taking full videos and picture documentation of his escapades in a dark hotel room. The White House seems a bit too stuffy for the type of partying he’s used to. Plus, wouldn’t Hunter Biden know how to properly sneak drugs in and out of the White House by now? Only a rank amateur is leaving a bag of coke in a cubby. That is unless it was placed there intentionally to be found and disposed of for some reason.
According to the Post story, Secret Service is doing forensic analysis on the bag including DNA and fingerprinting:
“We are doing everything possible to attempt to identify who may have brought this item into the White House,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Post on Thursday. “And that includes every resource, that includes every option available to us or to the federal government.”
According to multiple reports, that includes testing the bag for fingerprints as well as DNA evidence. Guglielmi declined to comment further about what he called an open investigation.
The Secret Service probably already knows who left the bag. The White House is covered in cameras, especially entrances and exits. It wouldn’t take much to solve this mystery in about 30 minutes.
The Biden administration seems rather unphased by the issue simply referring the matter to the Secret Service. No great urgency in the matter:
KJP On The White House Cocaine Discovery:
Biden “Was Briefed by His Staff On Everything That We Know So Far” pic.twitter.com/psCexJezFz— BizPac Review (@BIZPACReview) July 5, 2023
What if it was a gun or some other banned item or substance making it that far into the White House? Is the building so insecure that something like anthrax, a white powdery substance, could be brought inside just steps away from the Oval Office and Situation Room?
Clearly, there’s more to this story than the Biden administration is letting on. All outside visitors are heavily screened before entering. Only family members and upper-level cabinet members are able to come and go with slightly less scrutiny.
The result of the investigation may not ever be made public depending on the outcome.
Hopefully, the White House cocaine suspect doesn’t wind up down the memory hole similar to the Supreme Court Dobbs leaker, a still-unnamed individual despite the fact that the Justices seem to know exactly who it was.
UPDATE
The White House was further criticized by MSNBC, of all places, for trying to downplay the story, according to Mediate:
The cocaine found Sunday in the West Wing of the White House was located nearer to sensitive areas of the building than previously thought, according to reporting by MSNBC.
Chief Washington Correspondent Andrea Mitchell acknowledged the West Wing reception area was a highly-trafficked area, but still offered limited-access to outsiders.
“The big change is… where this was found. It was found, by my observation, in a much more secure place — limited-access place, in that West Wing reception area,” Mitchell said. “It’s still a frequently traveled place, but it’s down near the Situation Room, right off Executive Drive, down below. And, normal people just — average people just can’t get in there even with the entry for the northwest gate.”
White House Correspondent Kelly O’Donnell confirmed that the drugs were found at the West Executive entrance, “which, as you noted, is closer to the Situation Room.”
Is there a cheeky name for this scandal yet? Cocaine-gate doesn’t have a good ring to it.
