Biden ignores questions on cocaine found in the White House
Biden LAUGHES THE White House cocaine scandal and refuses to answer reporters’ questions — while press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggests drugs found in West Wing belonged to a visitor
- Jean-Pierre noted that cocaine was found in a “heavily trafficked” area
- It was found in a cubicle in the West Wing lobby of the White House
- Visitors and guests leave electronics in pockets for meetings and tours
President Joe Biden laughed and again ignored questions about the cocaine found in the White House — as the administration tried to distance the first family and staff from the shocking discovery by suggesting it was a visitor.
Biden sat and watched reporters try not to get his reaction to the drug scandal while in the Oval Office with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, in her daily briefing, suggested that a member of the public had left the Schedule A substance in a “high-traffic area” of the West Wing—the office space containing the Oval Office and an area for staff.
Despite repeated questions, she declined to comment on “hypothetics” about the investigation, insisting that the Secret Service find the perpetrator who left the drugs while Biden and son Hunter spent the weekend at Camp David.
The cocaine was found Sunday in a small zip-lock bag in a cubicle in the lobby of the West Wing where visitors leave their cell phones and other electronics before entering the White House complex.
A White House employee must accompany guests on a tour of the West Wing, and the Biden administration tests new employees for illegal substances.
President Joe Biden did not respond to questions about the cocaine found in the White House
Jean-Pierre said Biden was briefed on this, but the president did not answer any questions shouted at him during the meeting with Kristersson.
He also did not answer questions about this on Tuesday.
The Secret Service is conducting an investigation, including looking at security cameras and visitor logs.
The substance was found on Sunday evening during a routine Secret Service check and tested positive as a drug.
Jean-Pierre noted that the lobby has a lot of foot traffic on any given day.
The West Wing is the White House’s activity center. West Wing tours not only pass through the area, but all officials who have appointments with senior White House staff or the president check in at the lobby.
“This is a heavily, heavily trafficked — heavily traveled to be more accurate — part of the White House campus. And here come the visitors from the West Wing,’ Jean-Pierre said. “I just don’t have anything else – I’m not going to speculate on who it was.”
She also pointed out that West Wing tours – which can be operated by staff – were held on weekends, including Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
And she said the White House was not involved in the investigation and expressed confidence that the Secret Service would get the job done.
“We have every confidence that the Secret Service will get to the bottom of this,” she said.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested that the cocaine was brought into the White House by a member of the public
The cocaine was found in a booth in the lobby of the West Wing Pictured: The West Wing Lobby of the White House
Administrative officers may offer tours of parts of the West Wing to friends and relatives. Non-staff members must leave electronics and other belongings in the cubbies before taking a tour.
The discovery of the substance on Sunday led to a brief closure of the White House complex on Sunday. Biden and his family were not in the White House at the time.
The Bidens, along with their son Hunter and several grandchildren, spent the holiday weekend at Camp David and returned to Washington DC on Tuesday for a Fourth of July celebration on the South Lawn.
The mystery of cocaine discovered in the White House remains unsolved as the USSS searched for who brought the illegal drug onto the premises. Pictured: President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden and son Beau, three, watch fireworks from the White House Truman Balcony on Tuesday, July 4, 2023
HAZMAT crew gather behind the gates of the White House outside the entrance to the West Wing on Sunday night during a brief evacuation after discovery of cocaine
The controversy cast a shadow over the holiday, as questions remain about how the dust entered the White House and who may have brought it.
The West Wing area includes the Oval Office, offices for the president’s executive staff, the Cabinet Room, the Roosevelt Room, and the Press Room where dozens of members of the White House Press Corps gather to work each day.