Secret Service found a suspicious white powder during a routine round at the White House on Sunday that tested positive for cocaine
Substance was found in the library, which is open to public White House tours
Biden was not there at the time of discovery, but he and son Hunter were at the White House on Friday before departing for a long weekend at Camp David
By KATELYN CARALLE, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and members of the first family arrived back at a White House mired in controversy on Tuesday after cocaine found by Secret Service agents sparked an evacuation and Hazmat situation.
A dispatch call reviewed by DailyMail.com reveals a preliminary test found that the white powder discovered on Sunday tested positive for cocaine – and led to emergency services shutting down 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Secret Service has now launched an investigation to track down how the substance got there and who was responsible for the breach.
The discovery came two days after recovering drug addict Hunter, 52, was last seen at the White House as he headed to Camp David with his father for the long holiday weekend.
Trolls are speculating that the president’s addict son is the source of the illegal substance.
However, The White House library is part of the public tour experienced by hundreds daily, meaning there could be multiple suspects. It is also two floors below the first family’s living quarters.
While the dispatch recording clearly says ‘library,’ a source familiar with the incident told DailyMail.com that the substance was not found inside the executive mansion but was discovered in a ‘work area’ in the west wing of the White House.
HAZMAT crew gather behind the gates of the White House outside the entrance to the West Wing on Sunday evening. The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday following discovery of the white powder substance that was confirmed to be cocaine
Hunter Biden was at the White House Friday before departing for a long holiday weekend to Camp David with President Joe Biden. Pictured: Hunter arrived back at Fort McNair before heading to the White House for Independence Day celebrations. Hunter’s son Beau Biden, 3, was in tow but was clearly unhappy
A Secret Service statement confirms this.
‘On Sunday evening, the White House complex went into a precautionary closure as officers from the Secret Service Uniformed Division investigated an unknown item found inside a work area,’ the statement reads.
‘The DC Fire Department was called to evaluate and quickly determined the item to be non-hazardous,’ it continues. ‘The item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending.’
Hunter arrived back in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday for the annual Independence Day celebration on the South Lawn. In tow was wife Melissa Cohen and their unhappy son Beau, 3, who was crying as his father carried him to the car at Fort McNair to head back to the White House.
U.S. Secret Service is conducting further testing to confirm if the substance is the illegal drug.
He also said that President Joe Biden was not in the executive mansion when the substance was discovered.
Authorities are investigating how the cocaine got into the White House.
Pro-Trump Republican Rep. Jim Banks tweeted: ‘They never found cocaine in the Trump White House!’
‘The Bidens are unfit to live in the White House!’ he wrote in a follow-up tweet with a link to a story on the cocaine found in the mansion.
Meanwhile, far-right Newsmax host Robb Schmitt said during a report on the cocaine discovery: ‘It wouldn’t be a thumpin’ July 4th weekend without Hunter Biden ripping lines off of a bust of Teddy Roosevelt.’
‘Cocaine was found at the White House and Hunter Biden currently lives at the White House. FBI has no clue who it belongs to. Anyone want to help them?’ a Twitter journalist with nearly 200k followers wrote.
A uniformed member of the USSS found the white powder substance while conducting a routine round through the White House.
Discovery of the illegal drug led to a brief evacuation of the White House.
The D.C. fire department team that responded to the call determined the substance did not pose a threat – and the recording of a dispatch from the fire crew confirmed testing found it was cocaine.
‘We have a yellow bar saying cocaine hydrochloride,’ a firefighter with the D.C. department of hazardous materials radioed at 8:49 on Sunday, according to the Post.
‘Bag it up and take it out,’ the firefighter instructed.
The library where the cocaine was found is right off the White House visitor entrance and is part of the tour of the mansion, which means the room sees a lot of foot traffic from members of the public. It is also located two levels below the first family’s residential quarters
Some Republicans on Twitter are questioning whether the cocaine really did come from Hunter – noting possible other sources.
‘I am not ruling out possible members of the White House press,’ conservative radio host Mark Levin tweeted in response to the discovery of cocaine.
Matt Wallace, who has 1.1 million followers asserted: ‘The Cocaine found at the White House is not from Hunter Biden.’
‘The real story is actually much worse than that! Many of Joe Biden’s Top Staff regularly use Cocaine and other Hardcore Drugs. The cleaning crews are tasked with hiding all traces but this weekend was especially bad!’
Hunter Biden, who is known to struggle with substance abuse, was at the White House on Friday before departing with his father to Camp David for the July 4 holiday weekend.
The president and his son maintain that he has kicked his addiction.
Most recently, the younger Biden reached a plea deal with Justice Department prosecutors to avoid jail time after lying on a federal form to purchase a firearm. He checked a box claiming that he did not use and was not addicted to illegal substances – a fact that would disqualify him from buying the gun.
The form contradicting the timelines and claims made in Hunter Biden’s own memoir.
Biden critics and conservative decried Hunter’s plea deal, claiming that anyone other than the president’s son would receive jail time for the same offense.
The deal also saw Hunter plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors.