WASHINGTON − The cocaine that Secret Service agents found at the White House over the weekend was discovered in the West Wing lobby where guests enter before taking private tours, according to the Secret Service, providing new insight into the discovery of the substance.
The Secret Service is investigating how the cocaine got into the White House including who brought it in.
A suspicious powder, later identified as cocaine following tests, was found Sunday evening while President Joe Biden was away from the White House at the Camp David presidential retreat. It prompted a brief evacuation for precautionary purposes.
Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, confirmed Wednesday that the cocaine was found within the West Wing lobby, which serves as a reception room for visitors.
White House staff are authorized to give West Wing tours to visitors who go through background screenings before being allowed on the White House campus. Guests and staff are subject to metal-detector screenings when they enter the White House premises.
Visitors enter the White House at the White House lobby, a high-traffic area where they are asked to leave their cellphones in small boxes.
Biden did not respond to shouted questions from reporters about the cocaine discovery before an Oval Office bilateral meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
West Wing tours took place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. She declined to speculate on who brought the illegal substance in to the White House and declined to say whether the responsible party should be prosecuted.
“I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals from here,” Jean-Pierre said. “Let the Secret Service do their job. It’s under their purview. We have confidence that they’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Jean-Pierre emphasized that the president, first lady and the first family were not at the White House over the weekend. Biden was briefed by staff on the incident, she said.
“Where this was discovered is a heavily traveled area, where many White House − West Wing, I should be even more specific − West Wing visitors come through this particular area. I just don’t have anything more to share. This is under investigation by the Secret Service.”
She added, “The president thinks it’s very important to get to the bottom of this.”
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
