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Tests show powder found at White House was cocaine

July 6, 2023

Officials say a white powder found at the White House that sparked an evacuation over the weekend was cocaine. The US Secret Service said it was investigating the matter.

https://p.dw.com/p/4TQ6Q
A Marine guard stands watch at the West Wing of the White House.
Secret Service agents were doing routine rounds on Sunday when they found the white powderImage: RS/MPI/Capital Pictures/picture alliance

White powder discovered by Secret Service agents near government offices was cocaine according to agency lab report.

The US Secret Service on Wednesday announced that laboratory tests of the white substance discovered during a routine security sweep of the West Wing of the White House on Sunday was in fact cocaine. The agency said it had, "just confirmed that substance found was cocaine and our investigation is ongoing."

The Secret Service said the powder was discovered in a publicly accessible area where visitors deposit electronic items and other belongings before touring parts of the West Wing, where President Joe Biden's Oval Office is located.

"It was in one of the cubbies," a Secret Service source said, speaking of the storage cubicles, "They're checking visitor logs and... looking at cameras. Those are the next steps. Cross-checking."

The discovery prompted a brief Sunday closure of the White House complex. No information was given as to how much cocaine was found.

Staff from the administrative offices are often in the area and likewise often give tours to friends and family, sometimes on weekends and evenings.

Bidens not in White House when cocaine was discovered

The Secret Service, which is responsible for the protection of the president, said Biden and his family were not at the White House at the time the cocaine was discovered. The White House says the Bidens spent the Fourth of July holiday weekend at Camp David, and returned to Washington on Tuesday.

Speaking further on the matter, the Secret Service source added that family members who visit the president and First Lady Jill Biden, use the East Wing of the building.

President Biden did not answer questions shouted at him by reporters Wednesday, but a White House statement said he feels it is, "important to get to the bottom of the cocaine discovery."

Republicans, former president and current GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump chief among them, were quick to openly speculate that the cocaine had been placed there for Biden and his son Hunter, a recovering addict, or that it belonged to the younger Biden.

dvv,js/rc (dpa, Reuters)