After subsequent testing, the “white, powdery substance” found in the West Wing over the weekend was identified as cocaine.
According to a person familiar with the inquiry, a Secret Service agent doing a regular patrol Sunday night discovered the narcotic in a dime-sized package housed within a cubby that was utilised by both staff and visitors.
The White House was briefly evacuated as a result of the finding, and a Hazmat unit was dispatched to the executive home.
James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a Republican from Kentucky, is requesting further information from the director of the U.S. Secret Service regarding the bag of cocaine discovered inside the White House.
In a letter to Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, he denounced the illegal discovery as a “shameful” incident for the White House and demanded a staff-level briefing on the subject by next week.
“This alarming development requires the Committee to assess White House security practises and determine whose failures led to an evacuation of the building and finding of the illegal substance,” Comer wrote, adding that his committee will seek “additional information.”
“The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House’s history,” the top Republican wrote.
“The Committee’s worries about the degree of security maintained at the White House have grown as a result of this occurrence. Please give a staff level briefing on this subject by July 14, 2023, in order to aid the Committee’s investigation.
The location of the cocaine has been the subject of various reports. It was claimed that the chemical had been discovered in the White House library when the news initially broke. It was located in a “heavily travelled” area of the West Wing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre informed reporters on Wednesday. It was discovered at the West Executive door, a more guarded area than initially believed, according to numerous outlets on Thursday.
The revelation of cocaine has drawn even closer scrutiny from Biden’s Republican detractors, many of whom have already accused the president of unlawfully being swayed by his son Hunter Biden’s old connections in the international business world.
Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, wrote to the Secret Service on Wednesday to get further details on the discovery.
He responded, “Congress wants to know the specifics, as well as your plan to address any security issues, if the White House complex is not safe.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, referred to reporters on Friday as “irresponsible” for directly inquiring as to whether the cocaine discovered in the West Wing over the weekend belonged to any members of the first family.
Jean-Pierre rounded on the reporter rather than mentioning the ongoing Secret Service inquiry into the event or expressing certainty that the substance did not belong to anyone working or residing in the White House.