Images of cocaine found in a phone locker within the White House during President Joe Biden's tenure have been unveiled, following a Freedom of Information Act request, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The photographs were provided by the US Secret Service in response to the request.
The narcotics were unearthed on July 2, a Sunday, while the Biden family, including first son Hunter, were away for a weekend sojourn at Camp David, just prior to Independence Day. The discovery led to an immediate evacuation of the White House West Wing and initiated an 11-day investigation.
The Secret Service concluded the inquiry in under two weeks, attributing the closure to a "lack of evidence." No individual was apprehended in connection with the incident. According to the Secret Service, a total of 500 individuals were listed as potential suspects, but security footage yielded no leads, as the locker area is not under surveillance. It remains unclear whether any of these suspects were questioned during the brief investigation period.
The Secret Service disclosed that no viable fingerprints or other DNA evidence were detected on the "dime-sized" bag, which contained less than a gram of cocaine. Documents indicate that the bag was subsequently sent to an FBI laboratory at Quantico for analysis. The narcotics were scheduled for "destruction" on July 14, a day after the investigation was concluded.
Initial reports about the cocaine discovery varied, with locations ranging from the White House library to the West Wing lobby, and finally, the cubbies near the West Executive entrance. When questioned about the possibility of the cocaine belonging to a member of the Biden family, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that the family was not in residence at the time of the discovery.
Jean-Pierre expressed frustration when a reporter asked, five days post-discovery, for a definitive statement that the narcotics did not belong to a Biden family member. "You know, there has been some irresponsible reporting about the family and so I've got to call that out here," the press secretary stated. "And I have been very clear."
Login