Former President Donald Trump had some harsh words for the president and his family following the discovery of cocaine in the West Wing lobby of the White House.
“Where are the White House SECURITY TAPES … which will quickly show where the Cocaine in the White House came from??? They already know the answer but probably don’t like it!” Trump said in a July 6 Truth Social post.
“Does anybody really believe that the COCAINE found in the West Wing of the White House, very close to the Oval Office, is for the use of anyone other than Hunter [and] Joe Biden,” Trump wrote in another Truth Social post. “But watch, the Fake News Media will soon start saying that the amount found was ‘very small’, [and] it wasn’t really COCAINE, but rather common ground up Aspirin, [and] the story will vanish.”
The cocaine was found in the White House on Sunday evening, July 3, with the U.S. Secret Service confirming the discovery and proposing that it was brought in by someone who works there or had the authorization to enter the place.
The news triggered speculation of Hunter Biden’s involvement since the president’s son is known to have used drugs. In his memoir “Beautiful Things,” Hunter admits that he was addicted to crack cocaine for several years.
A slew of photos from Hunter’s abandoned laptop that was published a few weeks back showed him in various states of undress while being surrounded by drug paraphernalia.
Bringing Cocaine Into White House
In an interview with The Epoch Times on July 5, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, said that the agency had not identified the person who could have brought cocaine into the building.
The drug was found in an area closed to the public, in a region where guests, media, staff, and other individuals with business in the West Wing gather during the security screening process.
Hunter Biden arrives for a toast during an official State Dinner in honor of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the White Hous,e on June 22, 2023. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
“There’s a multitude of individuals who come through this area. It’s an open area for individuals who are authorized to be in the West Wing,” he said. When the cocaine was discovered, President Biden and his family were at Camp David.
In his Truth Social post, former President Trump asked whether special counsel Jack Smith was “seen in the area of the COCAINE.” Smith was appointed to oversee the Department of Justice’s investigations into the former president last year.
The White House has refused to confirm whether it intends to prosecute the person who brought the cocaine into the building. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied that she was “not gonna get into hypotheticals” when a reporter raised the question on Wednesday.
Ms. Jean-Pierre also confirmed that “the President and the First Lady and their family were not here this weekend” when the cocaine was discovered. “They left on Friday and returned just yesterday.”
Securing White House
Concerned about the presence of cocaine in the White House, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is pressing the Secret Service to reveal details regarding its investigation of the issue.
In a July 5 letter (pdf) to Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service, Sen. Cotton asked for information on the specific location within the White House where the drug was discovered.
“The American people deserve to know whether illicit drugs were found in an area where confidential information is exchanged,” the letter said. “If the White House complex is not secure, Congress needs to know the details, as well as your plan to correct any security flaws.”
This isn’t the first time that White House residents have been linked to drug use. Former President Barack Obama has openly admitted to using marijuana in high school.
His memoir “Dreams of My Father” includes a discussion about potentially using cocaine in younger years. Several of his staffers were also known to have used marijuana.
The current Vice President Kamala Harris admitted in 2019 that she had used pot in the past. Harris is a supporter of making cannabis legal.
