Secret Service Soon Will Brief Oversight Committee on White House Cocaine, With Investigation Likely To End This Week Regardless of Whether the Culprit Is Found

In the latest development in the story of the mysterious bag of cocaine discovered in the White House, the Secret Service will brief the Republican-led House Oversight Committee on its investigation Thursday morning. This comes as CNN reports the probe will likely conclude early this week, regardless of whether the culprit is found.The Oversight Committee’s briefing will be given at 10 a.m. Thursday to committee staff. The chairman of the committee, Congressman James Comer, had asked for the briefing in a letter sent Friday to the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle.“In order to assist the Committee with its investigation, please provide a staff level briefing on this matter by July 14,” Mr. Comer wrote to Ms. Cheatle. The drugs were reportedly found on the ground floor of the West Wing near an entrance used by the vice president, members of the Cabinet, and senior members of the president’s staff, and close to the Situation Room. The entrance is so exclusive that NBC News’s Chuck Todd, one of Washington’s most well-known reporters, said he has only been in that area of the West Wing twice in the last 30 years and only when “escorted” by a White House staffer. The Secret Service is testing the bag of drugs for fingerprints and DNA. According to CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, federal law enforcement officials are expected to finish their investigation “early” this week after reviewing DNA samples, visitor logs, and security tapes. CNN reports that investigators think it’s unlikely they will uncover the identity of the culprit given that the area where the cocaine was found is so “heavily trafficked.” Republicans in Congress have made public their concerns about security on the White House campus, especially given that the drugs were found so close to the Situation Room. In a press release accompanying his letter to Ms. Cheatle, Mr. Comer’s office said the presence of drugs in the West Wing “requires” that the committee “assess White House security practices and determine whose failures led to an evacuation of the building.”“The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House’s history,” Mr. Comer said in a statement. “Congress funds White House security procedures, and the Secret Service has a responsibility to maintain effective safety protocols. This incident and the eventual evacuation of staff now clearly raises concerns about the level of security maintained at the White House.”Some members of Congress have also raised concerns that the Biden family is the source of the cocaine, given that the president’s troubled son, Hunter, who frequents the White House, has a history of cocaine addiction. When asked about the matter at a press briefing on Friday, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, dodged questions about the drugs and instead admonished a reporter for asking about the cocaine. “Can you say once and for all whether the cocaine belonged to the Biden family?” one reporter asked Ms. Jean-Pierre, which led many other reporters to laugh. The press secretary then sternly said that the media was not acting appropriately in asking such questions and had made mistakes in speculating about the drugs. “There has been some irresponsible reporting about the family, so I’ve got to call that out here,” she said. “I’ve been very clear … the Biden family was not here. They were at Camp David.”“To ask that question is incredibly irresponsible,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said.

Secret Service Soon Will Brief Oversight Committee on White House Cocaine, With Investigation Likely To End This Week Regardless of Whether the Culprit Is Found

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