WASHINGTON − Secret Service agents Sunday found cocaine in the White House’s 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.
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-trafficked area where they are asked to leave their cellphones in small boxes.
The White House declined to comment on the discovery of the cocaine, referring questions about the episode to the Secret Service.
Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.
