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The White House was evacuated after a "suspicious white powder" was determined to be cocaine.
According to two law enforcement officials and a recording of the night's radio dispatch, a substance discovered in the White House complex on Sunday evening, which prompted a brief closure of the facility, tested positive for cocaine shortly after its discovery.
The substance was discovered in a common area of the West Wing, which contains the Oval Office and the offices of several of the president's top aides and support personnel.
White House Evacuated After Cocaine is Discovered
A senior law enforcement official told CBS News that the substance was discovered in a cubby used routinely by White House personnel and visitors to store cell phones in a storage facility. The discovery of an "unknown device" prompted a "precautionary closure" of the White House, according to a statement released Tuesday by Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
Guglielmi stated that the DC Fire Department was contacted and determined the substance to be "non-hazardous."
The substance is undergoing additional testing to corroborate that it is cocaine, and the agency is investigating how it entered the White House. In a recording of a radio message, DC Fire hazmat personnel who responded to the site on Sunday night can be heard stating that the substance tested positive for "cocaine hydrochloride."
OpenMHz, a website that captures and archives radio dispatches by police, fire, and EMS agencies, posted the message. President Joe Biden did not spend the weekend at the White House.
On Friday, he, first lady Dr. Jill Biden, and family members departed for Camp David. Tuesday marked their return to the White House for a National Education Association event and Fourth of July celebrations.
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Hunter Biden Visited the White House Before the Incident
Per Dail Mail, the discovery was made two days after Hunter Biden was last seen leaving the White House for Camp David with his father over the holiday weekend.
Critics speculate that the president's son is the source of the illicit substance. However, the White House library is included in the daily public tour, so multiple suspects are possible. It is also two floors below the residential quarters of the first household.
While the dispatch recording plainly states "library," a source familiar with the incident told DailyMail.com that the substance was discovered in a "work area" in the White House's west wing.
Tuesday marked Hunter Biden's return to Washington, DC, for the annual Fourth of July celebration on the South Lawn. The Cohens' 3-year-old son Beau, who was sobbing as his father carried him to the car at Fort McNair to return to the White House, was also in tow.
The US Secret Service is conducting additional tests to corroborate whether or not the substance is a controlled substance. Authorities are looking into how the cocaine entered the White House.
The squad from the DC fire department that responded to the call determined that the substance did not pose a threat, and a recording of a fire crew's dispatch verified that testing revealed the substance to be cocaine.
Some Republicans on Twitter doubt whether the cocaine actually originated from Hunter Biden, citing the possibility of other sources. Hunter Biden, known to struggle with substance addiction, was at the White House on Friday before traveling to Camp David with his father for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
According to the president and his son, he has overcome his addiction. The younger Biden recently struck a plea agreement with Justice Department prosecutors to avoid prison time for lying on a federal form to purchase a firearm. He selected a box indicating that he did not use illicit substances and was not addicted to them, which disqualified him from purchasing the firearm. The form contradicts the timelines and assertions in Hunter Biden's autobiography.
Conservatives and Biden detractors criticized Hunter Biden's plea bargain, alleging that anyone other than the president's son would have been incarcerated for the same offense. Hunter Biden pled guilty to two tax misdemeanors as part of the agreement.
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