Secret Service completes White House cocaine probe: Biden administration accused of cover-up for failing to catch suspect who left drugs in West Wing locker – despite security cameras recording 24 hours a day
- The USSS told Congress that it narrowed the list of possible suspects of bringing cocaine into the White House to 500 people
- The authorities have decided to drop the investigation without finding the culprit
- The agents “just decided it was just a weekend visitor … That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Republican Rep. Tim Burchett said
Furious Republicans said the Secret Service will drop the White House cocaine probe without finding a suspect.
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett said agents “just decided this was just a weekend visitor.”
“It’s dizziness,” he added. “It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
His comments came after the Secret Service informed members of Congress 11 days after the discovery.
Since July 2, when the cocaine was discovered, the Secret Service has been combing through surveillance footage from cameras located throughout the White House, but has still not been able to find a perpetrator.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has avoided the latest White House scandal by fleeing to Europe for meetings with foreign leaders.
No fingerprints or other DNA were found on the container of cocaine, according to the Secret Service. And inside the small zip-lock bag was less than a gram of the illegal drug.
Furious Republicans said the Secret Service is closing the White House cocaine investigation with no suspects — and without a narrowed list of 500 people who may be responsible
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett said the agents “just decided it was just a weekend visitor… That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Secret Service officials told lawmakers during Thursday’s briefing that they had narrowed the list of suspected perpetrators to about 500 people.
“Did you drug test this list of 500 potential suspects who brought an illegal substance — the drug cocaine — into the White House?” Greene told reporters after the briefing. “Their answer was no and they are not ready for that.”
With no direct responses to the cocaine find from the USSS or the Biden administration, and having nearly two weeks to investigate the matter, congressmen requested briefings.
Trump-era CBP director and longtime FBI agent Mark Morgan told last week that the case was “straightforward” and could be resolved within 30 minutes.
Morgan and Rep. Burchett noted that there are cameras with facial recognition technology everywhere that could provide answers as to who brought the cocaine into the White House.
Republican congressmen are unlikely to be satisfied with the USSS dropping the investigation without finding out who is responsible for importing the illicit drug into the West Wing.
The White House continues to dodge questions related to the incident and the investigation – and the location of the discovery has changed three times over the course of a week
President Joe Biden avoided the latest White House scandal when he fled Washington DC for meetings across Europe this week
The substance was found on Sunday, July 2, prompting a Hazmat evacuation of the White House while President Joe Biden and his family were spending the long Bank Holiday weekend at Camp David.
Now, 11 days after the discovery, Congress doesn’t know how the drug got to one of the safest places in the US – and the USSS has no plans for definitive answers.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman James Comer wrote to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle last week asking for a briefing by July 14, which took place Thursday morning.
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas also requested a disclosure, urging Cheatle in a public letter for information. When reached the senator’s office, it said it had yet to receive a response from Cheatle.