Secret Service closes White House cocaine probe without suspect
Closure of the investigation comes 10 days after the cocaine was discovered
The US Secret Service has closed its investigation into who may have brought a plastic bag of cocaine into the White House this month after lab results were inconclusive about possible suspects, according to two people briefed on the probe.
The Secret Service sent the bag that had contained the powder to an FBI lab to look for traces of DNA and fingerprints, but neither form of testing yielded definitive results, the agency said. Nor was any surveillance video found that provided any investigative leads, officials added.
The likelihood of finding conclusive evidence on a small plastic bag was always considered small, according to several law enforcement officials familiar with the probe, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Secret Service officials briefed members and staffers of the House Oversight Committee on the investigation in a secure session Thursday morning.
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"Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered," the Secret Service said in a public statement. "At this time, the Secret Service's investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence."
The cocaine was found on the ground floor of the West Wing near where visitors taking staff-led tours are instructed to leave their cellphones, The Washington Post previously reported. The large number of outsiders visiting White House on these tours created a major challenge for investigators, according to people familiar with the process.
The closure of the investigation comes 10 days after the cocaine was discovered, and the agency's conclusions may not satisfy members of Congress.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, recently wrote Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle asking for more information on the agency's security procedures for the White House.
"If the White House complex is not secure, Congress needs to know the details, as well as your plan to correct any security flaws," Cotton wrote.
The small bag containing white powder was found July 2 in a cubby where guests are asked to leave phones before entering the West Wing. Described as a "dime bag" of cocaine that was only partially full of powder, the item was discovered as part of a routine security sweep conducted at the end of most evenings, according to people familiar with the matter.
The discovery prompted a brief evacuation of the building and elevated security, with a D.C. fire crew responding, as officials made sure the material was not a chemical or radiological substance. A preliminary test found the substance was cocaine, a finding that was later confirmed by a more definitive test.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said at the time that the Secret Service was immediately launching "an investigation into the cause and manner" by which the substance entered the White House.
President Biden was not in the White House when the cocaine was found, but he has been briefed on the discovery. A White House official said on July 5 that the president believed it was "incredibly important" for the Secret Service to determine how it got there.
Sources said Secret Service officials reviewed logs of staffers and other who entered the White House in the weekend before the July 4 holiday, and also reviewed videotapes of people entering, but were unable to identify any suspects and connect them to the baggie found in the cubby.