Biden LAUGHS OFF White House cocaine scandal and refuses to answer reporters’ questions – while press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggests the drug found in West Wing belonged to a visitor
- Jean-Pierre noted cocaine was found in a ‘heavily trafficked’ area
- It was found in cubby hole in the West Wing lobby of White House
- Visitors and guests leave electronics in cubby holes before meetings and tours
President Joe Biden on Wednesday again ignored questions about the cocaine discovered at the White House while his press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre implied it was brought in by a member of the public.
Jean-Pierre, at her daily press briefing, repeatedly pointed out the drug was found in a ‘heavily-traveled area’ of the West Wing – the office space of the White House that houses the Oval Office and area for staff.
If the illegal drug was brought by a visitor then it wouldn’t be the property of White House, who order go drug testing as part of their onboarding process to work for the administration, or a member of the president’s family.
The cocaine was found on Sunday in small, zippered bag in a cubby hole in the lobby area of the West Wing, where visitors leave their cell phones and other electronics before entering that area of the White House complex.
President Joe Biden didn’t acknowledge questions on the cocaine found at the White House
Biden has been briefed on the matter, Jean-Pierre said, but the president didn’t acknowledge questions shouted at him when he met in the Oval Office with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. He also didn’t answer questions about it on Tuesday.
The Secret Service is conducting an investigation, including looking at security cameras and visitor logs. The substance was found during a routine Secret Service sweep on Sunday evening and tested positive as a drug.
Jean-Pierre noted the lobby sees a lot of foot traffic on any given day.
The West Wing is the activity center for the White House. Not only do West Wing tours go through the area, but any 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 – area of the campus of the White House. And it is where visitors to the West Wing come,’ Jean-Pierre said. ‘I just don’t have anything else – I’m not going to speculate on who it was.’
She also pointed out West Wing tours – which can be conducted by staff – were conducted over the weekend, including Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
And she said the White House was not get involved in the investigation, expressing confidence the Secret Service would get the job done.
‘We have confidence that the Secret Service is going to get to the bottom of this,’ she said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre implied the cocaine was brought into the White House by a member of the public
The cocaine was found in a cubby hole in the lobby of the West Wing Pictured: The West Wing Lobby of the White House
Administration officials are able to offer tours of parts of the West Wing to friends and family members. People who are not members of staff 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 at the White House then.
The Bidens, along with their son Hunter and various grandchildren, spent the holiday weekend at Camp David, returning to Washington DC on Tuesday for a Fourth of July celebration on the South Lawn.
The mystery of cocaine discovered in the White House is still unsolved as USSS searched for who brought the illicit drug onto the property 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 evening during a brief evacuated following discovery of cocaine
The controversy proved a shadow on the holiday as questions remain about how the substance 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, Cabinet Room, Roosevelt Room and the press briefing room where dozens of members of the White House press corps gather for work every day.
