Who left a baggie of cocaine in the White House?
The drugs were reportedly discovered in a restricted part of the White House, and on a day when public tours were not offered. To most people, this would suggest the drugs belonged to someone senior in the Biden administration or in the Biden family.
But those theories are too simple for the media, who have instead suggested that a White House visitor carried the cocaine past heavy security, at considerable personal risk, only to leave the drugs behind.
The powdery substance discovered by Secret Service at the White House on Sunday is confirmed to be cocaine. A leading theory by law enforcement officials is that the bag of cocaine was brought in by an individual on a tour of the West Wing, CBS News' @weijia reports. pic.twitter.com/IEXQvnmMGK
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 5, 2023
- The Washington Post: "Cocaine Found in White House Near Where Guests Enter West Wing":
Jean-Pierre added that Biden was briefed on the matter, and she stressed that many outsiders set foot in the area where the cocaine was found." This is a heavily traveled area of the campus of the White House," she said. "It is where visitors to the West Wing come through." Law enforcement officials cautioned that because the area where the cocaine was discovered is so highly trafficked, it may be difficult to determine who was responsible for bringing the drug into the White House.
- The New York Times: "Secret Service Investigating Who Brought Cocaine Into the White House":
The small plastic envelope was found in an area of the West Wing that visitors and staff members often pass through during the day. When staff members want to bring relatives or friends on tours of the West Wing, they usually do so at night and on the weekends. A person familiar with the investigation said that the baggie was found near an area where guests are screened for security and leave their phones in small cubbies. The Secret Service would not say where exactly the substance was found in the lobby or whether the agency was working with the White House to review guest logs. People familiar with the investigation say that the area is frequented so often by so many groups of people that it may be hard to find the person who left the baggie.
Curiously absent from these reports is any mention of the fact that President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, who has struggled with cocaine addiction, is reportedly living in the White House. Nor do the stories note that Hunter Biden was photographed alongside his father on the West Wing balcony the day the baggie was found.
But the press doesn't seem interested in finding a culprit. In fact, they've simply declared that we'll never know who brought the drugs.
- NBC News: "Lab Test Confirms White Substance Found at The White House is Cocaine":
It is unclear how long the bag was in the White House. 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.
- CNN: "Lab Tests Show Substance Found at White House Was Cocaine":
The Secret Service, the official said, is doing "everything possible" to try and identify who brought what the official described as a "dime-sized bag" into the West Wing. The official noted that identifying the culprit may be difficult because of the size of the bag and the number of people who would have had access to the area.
The whole situation is just silly anyway, per CNN:
CNN jokes about cocaine being found in Joe Biden's West Wing.
"I want to know blow-by-blow who was responsible for this." - Sara Sidner while snickering.
"There is no 'too soon' ... It's an illicit drug at the White House. Why can't you have a little bit of fun?" - Kate Bolduan pic.twitter.com/mtR6VEPH6M— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 5, 2023
And nothing new.
I'm going to venture that Hunter Biden is not the only person who has stepped foot into a White House to have once used cocaine. In fact — you may wanna sit down for this — Barack Obama dabbled with it earlier in his life
— Sam Stein (@samstein) July 5, 2023