No suspect has been identified in the investigation behind the bag of cocaine which was left in the West Wing of the White House, the Secret Service concluded.
After briefing Congressional members, the Secret Service released a statement obtained by the Associated Press saying it was closing the investigation regarding the cocaine after laboratory results could not produce fingerprints or DNA in order for them to compare the evidence “against the known pool of individuals.”
“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 Secret Service wrote in the statement.
JUST IN: Secret Service issues formal statement announcing closure of White House cocaine investigation. pic.twitter.com/Li1fjQXOPk
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 13, 2023
Over the Fourth of July weekend, cocaine was reported to have been found in the White House. The substance was positively identified as cocaine after an “unknown” substance found in the West Wing on July 2 sparked an evacuation.
“Officers from the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division found an unknown substance inside a vestibule leading to the lobby area of the West Executive Avenue entrance to the White House,” the Secret Service confirmed in its statement.
An initial report indicated the cocaine had been discovered in the library of the White House. However, later reports said it had been “found in a cubby area” near the entrance of the West Wing.
“We have a yellow bar stating cocaine hydrochloride,” a firefighter from the District of Columbia can be heard saying over an encrypted line around 8:49 p.m.
Later reports in the following days said the cocaine had been found in a “work area” on the ground floor of the West Wing, Secret Service officials said, according to the Washington Post. NBC reported the cocaine had been found in a cubby near the White House’s West Executive entrance.
The discovery of the cocaine has sparked ongoing speculation as to who it belongs to with people such as former President Donald Trump suggesting it may belong to Hunter Biden. Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany shot down this theory, pointing out that the Biden family left for Camp David on Friday and the cocaine was found on Sunday.
The Secret Service noted that it had included a “methodical review of security systems and protocols” including doing a “backwards examination” of the days prior to the discovery of the substance.
“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 concluded in its statement.
