Judicial Watch announced on Tuesday it received 112 pages of Secret Service records in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that show photos and communications regarding cocaine found inside the Biden White House in July. The DHS withheld 34 pages in their entirety under the “foreseeable harm” standard, which states “the agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by an exemption …” and/or the Privacy Act.
Judicial Watch obtained the records in a July 13 FOIA request filed with the Department of Homeland Security for records, about:
- A white powdery substance found inside the West Wing of the White House on July 2, 2023, determined through testing to be the illegal drug cocaine.
The cocaine was found in a West Wing phone locker while the Biden family was away for the Fourth of July weekend at Camp David.
The investigative photos include the bag of cocaine found near the White House’s West Executive entrance.
A Secret Service “crime scene examination section evidence report” indicates that the photos were taken on July 2.
The records include July 2 email sent by a Secret Service public information officer whose name is redacted regarding a “suspicious substance at [the] White House:”
A 1″ by 1″ bag of white powdery substance was found near where pass holders put their phones when going into the [redacted] here. UD [Uniformed Division] Crime Scene tested it for drugs but came back inconclusive. TSD couldn’t determine what it was. Closures were made for caution.
DCFEMS [DC Fire & Emergency Medical Services] HAZMAT is on scene as of this email.
An incident report written on July 2 regarding a “suspicious package/incident” details the activities undertaken by the Secret Service Crime Scene Search Unit, the DC Hazmat team and the FBI’s WMD [Weapons of Mass Destruction] Directorate in handling the then-undetermined substance.
An additional July 2 incident report indicates the investigation lasted 12 days and that “cocaine and sodium bicarbonate were identified within the Item 1-1 powder,” also DNA “test results did not identify an individual responsible for the placement of the item within the West Wing of the White House Complex.” The report states that on July 14 the cocaine was “placed on the property/evidence book for ‘destruction.’”
A July 3 email from a person in the Technical Security Division whose name is redacted states:
Starting time Approx 1745 [5:45 p.m.] UD [Uniform Division] advised of a small ziploc bag approximately less than 1″ in by 1″ in the cell phone lockers by [redacted] was confident it was drug related thus the phone call to UD CRIME SCENE.
A July 10 email indicates that no identifiable prints were found on the bag.
On July 13, the Deputy Chief of the U.S. Secret Service Foreign Missions Branch sent a report to the Uniform Division, indicating that the bag of “unknown white powdery substance” was identified as cocaine by the FBI laboratory.
“These photos and documents detail the disruption and expense of the Biden White House cocaine scandal,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Few Americans buy that the Biden administration can’t figure out who brought this cocaine into the West Wing. Indeed, the lack of documentation about the ‘investigation’ of who was responsible is striking.”
Author: Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch, Inc., a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law. Through its educational endeavors, Judicial Watch advocates high standards of ethics and morality in our nation’s public life and seeks to ensure that political and judicial officials do not abuse the powers entrusted to them by the American people. Judicial Watch fulfills its educational mission through litigation, investigations, and public outreach. Visit Judicial Watch at https://www.judicialwatch.org/
