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For instance, the below-displayed post claimed the cocaine was found in an area often occupied by U.S. President Joe Biden, while other posts asserted that the drug was left behind by his son, Hunter Biden. The cocaine, contained in a small Ziploc bag, was found in a cubby used by visitors to store cellphones and other personal items before entering the West Wing. The Secret Service described the location of the substance as "inside a vestibule leading to the lobby area of the West Executive Avenue entrance to the White House." A formal laboratory test of a white powder found in a “highly trafficked” area of the White House has been confirmed as cocaine, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed official with knowledge of the investigation. Officials are investigating how a small bag of cocaine ended up in the White House on Sunday, when it was found on the ground floor of the West Wing near where visitors taking tours are instructed to leave their cellphones, according to three people familiar with the investigation.
Published July 5, 2023
Department of Homeland Security's National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, which analyzed the item for any biothreats. Tests conducted at this facility came back negative and gave formal confirmation that the substance was not biological in nature. Secondary testing of powder found in the West Wing lobby of the White House was confirmed to be cocaine.
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President Joe Biden and his family were at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, not the White House, when officers discovered the cocaine. WASHINGTON — Multiple officials involved in the White House cocaine inquiry now say the bag of powder was found in a cubby near the White House's West Executive entrance, not the formal West Wing lobby, as was previously reported. An initial test of the white powdery substance found inside the White House on Sunday evening showed it was cocaine. More testing was done to review the chemical composition of the powder, the statement continued. WASHINGTON — The mystery of who brought cocaine into the White House remains unsolved. The Secret Service investigation has concluded with no usable forensic or video evidence identifying the person responsible, three Secret Service officials familiar with the investigation said.
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The entrance is near where some vehicles, like the vice president’s limo or SUV, park. It is one floor below the main West Wing offices and on the same floor as the Situation Room and a dining area. Unlike some other federal entities, the Secret Services does not have drug-sniffing dogs.
Comer, a Kentucky Republican, later said in a statement that the Secret Service needs to reassess its security operations to ensure illegal substances do not enter the White House. Rightwing commentators sprang into action, insinuating that Hunter Biden was likely linked to the cocaine find. That prompted Chris Jackson, a Tennessee election commissioner and longtime Democratic operative, to say on Twitter he hoped Biden “sues the hell out of everyone suggesting this”. The number of people who use the area could make it difficult to determine who was responsible for the substance, NBC said. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) sent a letter to the director of the Secret Service on Wednesday asking for more information about the incident and for details about the agency’s security protocols for the White House.
Secret Service investigating suspected cocaine found inside White House complex - ABC News
Secret Service investigating suspected cocaine found inside White House complex.
Posted: Wed, 05 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
In reality, the cocaine was discovered in a common area of the West Wing, according to several reputable publications, including AP and CBS News. According to Reuters, the West Wing includes the Oval Office, cabinet room and work space for presidential staff. After that news broke, social media posts about the discovery rapidly spread, with various degrees of legitimacy. We found posts on Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, and Facebook making various claims about where the illicit substance was found and to whom it allegedly belonged.
Secret Service releases photos of cocaine found in White House locker - wpde.com
Secret Service releases photos of cocaine found in White House locker.
Posted: Tue, 14 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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Jean-Pierre reiterated that the cocaine was found in a heavily traveled area that visitors often transit and noted that staff-sponsored tours were held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The bag containing the cocaine remains in a federal laboratory, where it will be tested for DNA and fingerprints, the official said. The blurry timeline and the number of people who walk through the area where the cocaine was found could make it difficult to determine who was responsible, an official familiar with the investigation said.
He also asked half a dozen questions about access to the White House, other instances of illegal drugs' being found in the complex and security procedures, requesting answers by July 14. The cocaine was found on July 2 in a vestibule off the lobby of a lower-level West Wing entrance, stashed in a cubbyhole near the Situation Room, where officials store cellphones during meetings. News publications like CNN, The Hill, and the AP reported officials were working to identify who was responsible for bringing the substance into the federal building. According to the AP, Secret Service agents discovered the substance while doing a routine security scan of the building. NBC reported the drug was in a small, zippered bag, and that it was unclear how long it had been in the White House.
Suspicious powder found at the White House was cocaine, sources say
President Biden was briefed on the investigation and said it is “incredibly important” for the Secret Service to determine how it got there. Garda Thomas McDaniel told the prosecution that when gardaí arrived at the house with a warrant, they found a large amount of drugs paraphernalia including weighing scales. In that indictment, Trump is charged with 34 felonies, each predicated on his having allegedly falsified business records. The White House "is subject to rigorous guidelines that include drug testing, and so we will take any action that is appropriate and warranted, pending the outcome of the Secret Service," Jean-Pierre told reporters, adding that she wouldn't "get into hypotheticals." The substance was found Sunday evening in a small zippered bag in a highly trafficked part of the West Wing and prompted a brief evacuation, a Secret Service official said. The Secret Service is running the investigation, which will include consulting cameras and entrance logs, the official added.
The judge said that Wildman had been a "vital cog" in the distribution of drugs and had become involved due to his own drug-taking. Judge Nolan said the court could not impose a non-custodial sentence because of the seriousness of the crime and the level of Wildman’s involvement. Defence counsel Michael Bowman explained that Wildman requires regular hospitalisation for chemotherapy to manage the brain swelling and is also on immunosuppressants. Wildman was upstairs trying to put cocaine down the toilet, but he only managed to empty one bag before gardaí arrived. Bricks of cocaine tucked away in a lamp fixture are the latest twist in the investigation into the carjacking and murder of a Homestead woman in Central Florida.
If an officer encounters a powder or substance on White House grounds or in surrounding areas, they routinely request the assistance of D.C. Fire hazmat personnel who responded to the scene Sunday night, a first responder can be heard saying the substance tested positive for "cocaine hydrochloride." The message was posted by the website OpenMHz, which records and archives radio dispatches by police, fire and EMS agencies. Both of these analyses were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's crime laboratory given their expertise in this area and independence from the investigation. The Secret Service said in a statement the White House was closed as a precaution as emergency crews investigated, and that the District of Columbia fire department was called in to evaluate and determine that the substance was not hazardous.
The discovery of a powdery white substance on Sunday evening prompted a brief evacuation of the premises. Subsequent testing confirmed it was cocaine, said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service. The agency, along with the FBI, tested the packet to determine it was cocaine and looked for any fingerprints or DNA evidence. Video footage of the area where the baggie was found also provided no evidence to narrow the possible suspects beyond a list of roughly 500 staff members and visitors who passed through during a weekend earlier this month.
The West Wing is often frequented by visitors on staff-led tours on evenings and weekends. The Situation Room itself is being renovated, and has not being used for months. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, told reporters that officials explained during the briefing that the White House was "fully cooperative" with the Secret Service's probe, and said he is satisfied the agency conducted a "thorough investigation." "It's deeply frustrating," Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, told reporters.
Garcia told investigators that he received his gun a half-hour before he pulled off the brazen abduction — and the weapon wasn’t loaded during the crime, according to the outlet. So if Trump was admittedly trying to influence the election by agreeing with Cohen to pay off Daniels, then Cohen — as he admitted in federal court — violated campaign-finance laws. Attorneys offered opening arguments in the criminal trial of Donald Trump on Monday in Manhattan, beginning the process of presenting to the jury the state’s case against the former president. The jury will ultimately be asked not whether Trump is guilty of a crime in the abstract but, instead, whether the state provided enough evidence to eliminate any doubt that he violated the letter of the law. This means that the letter of the specific law undergirding the charges in the indictment against Trump is crucially important. WASHINGTON — A formal lab test of the white substance found at the White House on Sunday has come back positive for cocaine, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Wednesday.
"This is a heavily, heavily traveled, to be more accurate, area of the campus of the White House," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The discovery prompted an evacuation of the premises as officials sought to determine whether the substance was hazardous. The bag was found in a vestibule leading to the lobby area of the West Wing entrance to the White House, the Secret Service said.
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