A few days ago, a suspicious white-coloured substance, which was later confirmed as cocaine, was found at the White House. The powder was found by Secret Service agents in a publicly accessible area of the West Wing on July 2 around 8:45 pm local time, prompting a brief evacuation of the complex. Now, the Secret Service has concluded its investigation into the case and stated that they have "not been unable to identify a suspect" as no fingerprints or DNA were found on the small bag, according to a report in CNN.
According to their statement, Secret Service officers searched through "security systems" and scanned "several hundreds of people" who entered the West Wing days before the incident took place but were unable to identify a suspect. According to the Secret Service, FBI lab tests on the box showed "insufficient DNA" and were unable to recover any fingerprints.
As per the Secret Service report, investigators were unable to point out exactly when the bag of cocaine was deposited in the cubby near the lower entrance of the West Wing. It is to be noted that the cubby is close to the entrance of the West Wing, where the majority of the presidential business takes place and "where staff-led tours of the White House pass on their way into the West Wing".
"There was no surveillance video footage found that provided investigative leads or any other means for investigators to identify who may have deposited the found substance in this area," the statement added.
"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. At this time, the Secret Service's investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence," the Secret Service stated. As per CNN, the cubby, where the cocaine bag was found, is a blind spot for CCTV cameras.
It is to be noted that President Joe Biden wasn't present at the White House when the incident took place. Instead, he was spending the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat. Fire and emergency service personnel arrived to conduct quick testing on the material.
In an interaction with the media, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had earlier said, "Where this was discovered is a heavily-travelled area where many White House - West Wing, I should be even more specific, West Wing visitors come through this particular area, I just don't have anything more to share."
