The Secret Service said Thursday that it ended its investigation into how cocaine ended up in the White House because it lacked forensic or video evidence identifying a suspect.
Investigators poured through visitor logs and surveillance footage of hundreds of individuals who entered the West Wing in the days before the discovery of the illicit drug but were unable to identify who or when the baggie was left there, according to the Secret Service.
Also, the agency said a fingerprint and DNA analysis conducted by the FBI yielded no results because there was “insufficient” DNA present for an investigative comparison.
“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 in a statement. “At this time, the Secret Service’s investigation is closed due to lack of 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,” it said.
The announcement comes as Secret Service officials visited Capitol Hill to brief members of the House Oversight and Homeland Security committees after lawmakers requested answers about the cocaine probe.
Roughly 1 gram of cocaine was found on July 2 in a storage locker inside the West Wing executive entrance. The discovery of the white powder prompted an evacuation of the White House.
President Biden and his family were at Camp David over the weekend when the cocaine was found at the White House.
Republican lawmakers expressed frustration as they left the briefing.
“They were able to narrow down a list of approximately 500 people that had left a small bag of cocaine,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, told reporters. “My question to them was, have they drug-tested this list of 500 potential suspects that brought an illegal substance, or drug, cocaine, into the White House? Their answer was ‘no’ and that they’re unwilling to do so.”
The unusual discovery of illegal drugs at the White House occurred on the Sunday before the Independence Day holiday. A uniformed Secret Service officer saw a small plastic baggie in a storage cubby at the entrance on the ground level.
The storage cubbies are used by staff, contractors, military personnel, and visitors to drop off electronic devices or other items not permitted in some areas of the West Wing. They sit near the Situation Room, which the White House uses for secure meetings, but is currently not being used because it is undergoing renovations.
Mr. Biden’s staff is subject to routine drug tests, but White House visitors do not undergo such testing.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last week that the area is “highly traveled” because “visitors come through this particular area.” She also said staff-led tours were held that weekend before the drug was discovered.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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