After a disturbing cocaine find at the White House, Vice President Joe Biden responded with a grin and avoided inquiries while his administration tried to put distance between the first family and personnel by implying the involvement of a visitor.
Biden sat quietly with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the Oval Office on Wednesday and watched as reporters tried and failed to get a comment from him about the ongoing drug issue
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre hinted at the daily briefing that a member of the public had abandoned the Schedule A controlled substance in a high-traffic area of the West Wing. Here you’ll find the President’s Office and other administrative areas.
Jean-Pierre refused to offer any speculation about the investigation, assuring the public that the Secret Service would find out who abandoned the drugs while Biden and his son Hunter were at Camp David for the weekend.
On Sunday, a tiny bag with a zipper containing the cocaine was discovered in a nook in the West Wing foyer. Before entering the White House compound, guests can leave their cell phones and other electronic devices in this designated area.
Under the Biden administration, visitors to the West Wing must be accompanied at all times by a White House employee, and all new workers are subject to drug testing.
Despite being briefed on the situation, Vice President Biden chose to dismiss the questions posed to him by the press at his meeting with Prime Minister Kristersson on Tuesday.
The Secret Service has begun an investigation that will include a thorough study of security footage and guestbook entries in an effort to determine what led to the finding.
Jean-Pierre highlighted the lobby’s heavy foot activity, emphasizing the area’s centrality on the White House grounds. The lobby is the first stop for visitors taking a tour of the West Wing or meeting with senior staff or the president.
A lot of people pass by here on their way to and from the White House. Jean-Pierre emphasized, “It is where visitors to the West Wing come. I will not speculate on the identity of the perpetrator.”
She also mentioned that tours of the West Wing, which are given by members of staff, had occurred all three days of the weekend.
Jean-Pierre expressed faith in the Secret Service’s capacity to get to the bottom of things, despite the fact that the White House is not directly participating in the inquiry.
“We have faith that the Secret Service will uncover the truth,” she said.
Members of the administration may provide tours of the West Wing to friends and family, however visitors who are not on staff are required to leave their gadgets and personal belongings in the designated cubbies before entering the building.
Biden and his family spent the holiday weekend at Camp David, so they were not present when the chemical was discovered on Sunday and the White House compound was evacuated. The group flew back to the nation’s capital on Tuesday in preparation for a Fourth of July party on the South Lawn.
This scandal has cast a shadow over the holiday and has raised concerns about the entry of illicit narcotics into the White House, but the source and the responsible party remain unknown.
The West Wing houses the Oval Office as well as the president’s executive staff offices, the Cabinet Room, the Roosevelt Room, and the press briefing room where hundreds of reporters from around the world come every day to cover the White House.