The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday night while President Joe Biden was at the Camp David residence after the Secret Service discovered suspicious powder in a West Wing common area, and a preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine. This Wednesday, a second test confirmed that it was this drug. The US president has been briefed on the investigation and believes it is “incredibly important” to determine how he got there.
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The White House, residence of the president of the United States, is in the public spotlight after the presence of cocaine in the facilities was known.
“Where this was discovered is a very busy area where many visitors to the West Wing pass through,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news conference.
The spokeswoman indicated that the investigation is in the hands of the Secret Service, she was confident that the investigations would come to fruition and stressed that “she is not going to speculate on who it was.” On behalf of the president, she said that it is “incredibly important” to figure out how this chemical got inside the complex.
In parallel, the White House tries to calm the media scandal. The area where the substance was found is attached to the executive mansion where President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden live. However, the Bidens were not there on Sunday, July 2 when the discovery was made, but were instead at his residence at Camp David, in the state of Maryland.
It all started when United States Secret Service Agents found a strange powder in a routine raid on the presidential residence. The cocaine was in a small clear plastic bag in a cubby at the West Wing entrance where visitors place electronics and other belongings before taking tours.
This area of the White House allows access to friends and relatives of workers in the presidential residence. Non-staff members must leave electronics and other belongings in storage cubbies prior to taking tours.
Details of the find were given by three people to the US news agency ‘Associated Press’. His testimony is on condition of anonymity because there is an ongoing Secret Service investigation.
The agents in charge of the investigations are already reviewing the records of visitors and looking at the cameras to carry out a cross verification that finds the perpetrators of the entry of a substance whose possession is criminalized in the United States.
Unusual deployment in the White House
Following the discovery of the substance, the White House was evacuated at around 8:45 p.m. (local time) on Sunday. Fire and emergency teams arrived at the residence of the president of the first economic power to carry out a rapid test, which preliminarily identified cocaine.
The Secret Service said in a statement that the lockdown of the residence was necessary as a precaution while emergency crews investigated, and that the District of Columbia fire department was called to evaluate and determine that the substance was not hazardous.
It is not yet known how the drug entered, but this fact leaves doubts about the security of the most guarded residence in the American union. Security that is in charge of the Secret Service, which establishes rigorous guidelines for White House personnel, such as toxicology tests.
The US authorities stressed that they will take whatever action is appropriate as soon as the Secret Service’s conclusions are available.
With Reuters, AP and local media
