White House knows who was there before cocaine was found: Attorney Wendy Patrick
Career prosecutor Wendy Patrick weighs in on questions surrounding the cocaine found inside the White House on 'Fox News @ Night.'
Allies of the Biden administration fumed at reports on cocaine found in the White House over the holiday weekend, calling the flurry of media attention "political bull s–––."
"It’s all political fodder right now, political bull s***," a source close to the White House told The Hill. The insider scoffed the story was predictably being leveraged by the right, after former President Trump claimed the illegal drug belong to President Biden and his son Hunter.
"I think it’s comical. Of course, you’re going to do what you need to do. Any time the opposition has a way to lean in and provide some type of antidote or response that’s going to get people wired up — they’re going to do so," the source added.
EXPERTS BAFFLED BY WHITE HOUSE INVOKING HATCH ACT TO DODGE HUNTER COCAINE QUESTION: ‘RIDICULOUS’
The Biden White House has been inundated with media questions about cocaine discovered in the West Wing. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Secret Service discovered the illegal drug in a common area of the West Wing on Sunday. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the law enforcement agency was still investigating while fielding questions about the culprit.
While President Biden and his family were at Camp David over the July 4th weekend, White House officials refused to deny Trump's claims during Thursday's press gaggle.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates invoked the Hatch Act to dodge the question. "I don't have a response to that, because we have to be careful about the Hatch Act," Bates said to a reporter.
The legislation prohibits federal employees from talking about or using federal resources for campaign purposes.
FILE - The West Wing of the White House, March 22, 2019, in Washington. The White House campus was briefly evacuated Sunday evening while President Joe Biden was at Camp David after a suspicious substance was discovered by U.S. Secret Service in a common area of the West Wing, and a preliminary field test showed the substance was cocaine, two law enforcement officials said. ((AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File))
However, the Biden insider told The Hill the administration was handling the unusual situation, "very well."
A Democratic strategist who worked for a previous administration also expressed sympathy for the increased scrutiny on the White House, calling it "incredibly frustrating."
"I’m sure it’s incredibly frustrating. This is also the struggle with any White House. You plan and you plan and you plan and you have perfect events and the perfect schedule and something unexpected is thrown into the mix," the insider said in The Hill's report.
The Secret Service still had no suspects in the investigation on Thursday.
DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST SCOLDS BIDEN FOR NOT RECOGNIZING SEVENTH GRANDCHILD: ‘THIS IS HUMANITY’
President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden holding Beau Biden and Naomi Biden watch fireworks on the South Lawn of the White House on July 04, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The White House has also faced uncomfortable questions this week about his unacknowledged seventh grandchild, Hunter Biden's estranged four-year-old daughter.
Karine Jean-Pierre shut down a question about the granddaughter after the New York Times reported Biden aides have been directed to say publicly Biden has only six grandchildren.
"I don't have anything to share from here," Jean-Pierre responded to the reporter.
Fox News' Houston Keene and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.