Cocaine discovered in the White House on Sunday was found in a cubby hole at a West Wing entry where visitors place electronics and other belongings before taking tours, said a source familiar with the matter.
A probe was under way to determine who may have left the cocaine in the cubby hole, the source said. “They’re checking visitor logs and … looking at cameras. Those are the next steps. Cross-checking.”
The substance was found during a routine Secret Service sweep on Sunday evening. A Secret Service spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The agency did not say how much cocaine was found.
The discovery led to a brief closure of the White House complex on Sunday. President Joe Biden and his family were not at the White House then.
Biden did not answer questions that reporters shouted at him about the cocaine on Wednesday.
Administration officials are able to offer tours of parts of the West Wing, which houses the Oval Office, to friends and family members. People who are not members of staff must leave electronics and other belongings in the storage cubicles before taking a tour.
“It was in one of the cubbies,” the source said.
Biden and his family returned to the White House early on Tuesday after spending the holiday weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. Family members who visit the Bidens traditionally use the East Wing, the source said.
