Was it Hunter with the cocaine in the cabinet room? Ashley with the cocaine in the Oval Office? Or was it a stranger with access to the White House reference library? The mystery of the cocaine found in the White House over the July 4, 2023, holiday was closed for lack of evidence almost as soon as it began. But now there are revelations of a cover-up in the case.
A new report finds that former director Kim Cheatle, forced to resign over the disastrous near-assassination of Donald Trump, wanted the evidence destroyed, the substance not tested, and the case closed quickly. This was despite the high profile nature of the story — the evacuation of the entire White House, including the media, due to fears that the white powder, which a uniformed Secret Service agent discovered, was ricin or anthrax.
Having been on the Biden's Secret Service detail, Cheatle probably knew what it was.
The story exploded into the media as gowned-up people in hazmat bunny suits combed the White House.
For Our VIPS: Here Are Some Questions the Secret Service Should Have to Answer
The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday evening while Biden was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered a suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing.
— No Jumper (@nojumper) July 4, 2023
A preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine, officials said. 😳
pic.twitter.com/a8IHzz1qxf
It was going to be tough to put this genie back in the bottle.
RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree reports that even though there were no fingerprints found on the container, some "DNA material" was found that could have led to the identity of the owner.
The Secret Service officer who found the cocaine was being leaned on by the brass to drop the case, but he sent it to the FBI for testing. It came back with a "partial hit":
Several sources, citing private statements by a special agent in the Forensics Services Division who supervised the vault containing the cocaine evidence, said the agency ran the DNA material against national criminal databases and “got a partial hit.” The term “partial hit” is vague in this context, but in forensics lingo usually means law enforcement found DNA matching a blood relative of a finite pool of people.
“The Congressional oversight committees need to put White under oath and confirm the ‘partial hit,’” a source told RCP. “Then the FBI needs to explain who the partial hit was against, then determine what blood family member has ties to the White House or what person matching the partial hit was present at the White House that weekend.”
Cheatle at some point called the evidence vault supervisor, Matt White, and tried to persuade him to destroy the evidence that protocol dictates be kept for seven years. Crabtree reports that Cheatle indicated that the Secret Service wanted to close the case quickly. Tests to determine whose cocaine it was were stopped. The case was closed after eleven days. They never questioned one person. They claimed there wasn't enough information to "approach" a would-be suspect.
The Bidens were on vacation at the time the cocaine was discovered and came back with their families for the July 4, 2023, festivities. Hunter was living with the Bidens at the time in what looked like an attempt to avoid a subpoena for his gun and tax crimes.
The Cocainegate incident was a parlor game for some. The location where it was found changed multiple times.
This could be a "bring your dead" moment for the Secret Service, using Cheatle's professional corpse to heap on all the agency's other dirty laundry, but probably not. Cheatle was a Secret Service agent for the Bidens and a friend. They gave her the job.
Next question.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member