Republicans demand answers on White House cocaine a week after discovery
Fox News' Chad Pergram provides details on Republicans' reaction to the cocaine discovered in the White House as the investigation nears its end.
The Secret Service announced Thursday that it has closed its investigation into the cocaine found at the White House earlier this month and said it is "not able" to "single out a person of interest" because of a lack of physical evidence.
In a statement Thursday, after briefing members of Congress on the matter, the Secret Service said the cocaine was found on July 2 "inside a receptacle used to temporarily store electronic and personal devices prior to entering the West Wing."
The Secret Service said it has been investigating "how this item entered the White House," including a "methodical review of security systems and protocols."
The Secret Service has closed its investigation into the cocaine that was left in the White House, without finding out who left it. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
"This review included a backwards examination that spanned several days prior to the discovery of the substance and developed an index of several hundred individuals who may have accessed the area where the substance was found," the Secret Service said. It said investigators developed "a pool of known persons for comparison of forensic evidence gleaned from the FBI’s analysis of the substance's packaging."
The Secret Service said it received the FBI's lab results on Wednesday, and said the effort "did not develop latent fingerprints and insufficient DNA was present for investigative comparisons."
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"Therefore, the Secret Service is not able to compare evidence against the known pool of individuals," the Secret Service said, adding that the FBl's evaluation of the substance "also confirmed that it was cocaine."
The White House campus was briefly evacuated July 2, 2023, while President Biden was at Camp David after a suspicious substance was discovered by 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)
"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," the Secret Service continued. "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 White House in Washington, D.C. (Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
"At this time, the Secret Service's investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence," they said.
The Secret Service briefed members of Congress on the investigation Thursday morning.
Prior to the Secret Service's confirmation, a source familiar told Fox News Digital that Secret Service officials said they planned to end the investigation Friday, without determining who the cocaine belonged to. The source said the Secret Service officials said they still do not know who brought the cocaine into the White House.
After being briefed, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., confirmed to reporters that the investigation would be closed without naming a suspect. Burchett also said the Secret Service told members that less than one gram of cocaine was found.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital that, during the briefing, she inquired about specific security measures in place for the lockers where the cocaine was found. Boebert said the Secret Service admitted that the key to the locker in question "is missing."
"There are 182 lockers in that foyer and currently... locker number 50 where the cocaine was found, that key is missing," Boebert said. "There were more than 500 people who went through the West Wing during the weekend of when this substance was found, when the cocaine was found in the White House, and none of those people who have come through are classified as suspects."
"We do not know how many were tourists, individual citizens, or staffers, and they currently are not looking any further into those more than 500 people who entered that foyer of the West Wing during that weekend," she said. "Instead, they are quickly wanting to close this investigation and move on to the next Biden crime crisis."
Boebert also told Fox News that she learned "there are no logs of the lockers. There's no video surveillance of the lockers."
"The only thing that the Secret Service did was conduct background searches for past drug use or conviction of the over 500 individuals that came through that weekend," Boebert said. "They did not go further back in time, nor did their investigation produce any results to flag an individual person."
She added: "I believe that every staffer who went into the White House that weekend… should be drug tested."
Boebert also said the Secret Service does not have any leads on where the missing key could be.
The U.S. Secret Service and Washington, D.C., Fire Department investigate a security incident after a hazmat found near White House in Washington D.C., on July 2, 2023. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital that she doesn't necessarily think that the cocaine belongs to a member of the Biden family, adding: "I'm not going to go down the rabbit hole."
"But it's frustrating that every time something unsavory is happening around the White House, or around the president, his family or the administration, we can never find answers," Mace said.
When asked if White House staffers had been drug tested by the Secret Service, Mace replied, "I don't believe so."
Mace, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, was also asked if that panel will take over the Secret Service investigation.
"We have our hands full with other investigations," Mace said. "I don't believe this would be part of that."
There had been conflicting reports about where the cocaine was found. When the news first broke, it was alleged that the substance had been found in the White House library. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later told reporters that it had been in a "heavily traveled" part of the West Wing. Then, it was reported that the cocaine had been found near the West Executive entrance, a more secure location than previously thought.
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The White House said the incident occurred while President Biden and his family were away at Camp David.
Some of Biden’s Republican critics have said they believe the administration is not interested in finding the person’s real identity.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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