Nearly three years after a small bag of cocaine was discovered inside the White House complex, photos of the evidence have now been released to the public.
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The photos show a small plastic bag containing a white powdery substance inside cubby #50 near an entrance to the West Wing. According to ABC News, the cubby area is commonly used during guided tours, where visitors are instructed to leave their phones and personal belongings before entering more secure areas.
The cocaine was discovered on July 2, 2023. At the time, then-President Joe Biden and then-Vice President Kamala Harris were away from Washington. The White House was briefly shut down as a precaution while authorities investigated the substance.
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The U.S. Secret Service launched an investigation and later said the bag was found in a heavily trafficked area of the complex. Tours of that section are by invitation only and are typically led by White House staff. The Secret Service stated that hundreds of individuals could have had access to the cubby area and that available security camera footage did not identify a suspect.
Internal Secret Service emails later obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request showed that the FBI quickly took custody of what was initially described as “white powder” and transported it to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for testing.The Secret Service announced on July 12, 2023, that it was closing the investigation, saying it could not identify a suspect. The bag was reportedly tested for DNA and fingerprints, but investigators said the evidence did not yield usable leads.
The explanation drew criticism from some congressional Republicans at the time, who raised concerns about security protocols and surveillance coverage inside the White House complex. Questions lingered about how a controlled substance could be brought into a highly secured area without any accountability.
