Republicans Outraged at White House Cocaine Probe Conclusion

Numerous Republicans are flummoxed at the inability of the White House and Secret Service to determine who brought cocaine into the West Wing.

A baggie of the white substance was initially discovered July 2 during a routine sweep of the White House's West Wing, an area often heavily inhabited by staffers and general visitors. President Joe Biden and his family were at Camp David that day, not present while the vicinity was briefly evacuated.

The U.S. Secret Service said the substance, which was later lab tested and confirmed to be cocaine, was found inside a receptacle used to temporarily store electronic and personal devices prior to entering the West Wing.

However, FBI crime lab results could not develop latent fingerprints and the DNA associated with the baggie was insufficient to find a culprit. Thus, the investigation will be officially closed on Friday according to lawmakers briefed on the matter.

"There was no surveillance video footage found that provided investigative leads or any other means for investigators to identify who may have deposited the found substance in this area," the Secret Service said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement added: "Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered."

Newsweek reached out to Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi via text for comment.

Conservatives were none too pleased with the announcement.

"It's outrageous with the surveillance at the White House that this administration still hasn't disclosed the identity of the cocaine culprit," Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert told Newsweek via email.

Boebert tweeted a video saying that she was about to enter a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) to meet with Secret Service agents to receive unclassified information about how the cocaine entered the White House.

"I am determined to find out exactly what happened, where the substance came from, who was allowed in the White House without going through security—and, more importantly, why members of Congress are forced into a SCIF where classified information is regularly shared and this is an unclassified subject," Boebert said.

A slew of conservatives have also pointed fingers at the president's son, Hunter Biden, who has a history of addiction and substance abuse. Hunter has been targeted by conservative House committees due to alleged criminal financial dealings.

"Cocaine found in a White House storage receptacle is a big Hunter Biden story without any evidence connecting him to the coke," attorney Andrew Lieb told Newsweek via email. "Yet, the bigger story should be the Secret Service fail in the substance being left without their knowledge and their inability to track down the culprit.

"We need a secure White House and its security vulnerability to our enemies needs to be the story, not Hunter. It's time for some changes at the Secret Service in terms of policies, procedures and maybe personnel at the White House."

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters following the briefing that the Secret Service narrowed the list of suspects to approximately 500 individuals.

"My question to them was, have they drug tested this list of 500 potential suspects that brought an illegal substance, cocaine, into the White House?" Greene said. "Their answer was no, and that they're unwilling to do so. It makes no sense to me whatsoever why they wouldn't follow through one simple task."

Average Americans are drug tested as part of terms of their employment and their tax dollars went towards this particular investigation, she added.

The length in which cocaine stays in a person's system depends on multiple factors, including the amount of use and the type of testing or screening utilized, according to American Addiction Centers.

A urine test could show a positive test for up to about three days, for example, while blood and saliva tests will only show the same results within an approximate two-day period. Hair tests could detect the substance between a couple of months up to a few years.

Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett said post-briefing that the Secret Service's investigation was "a complete failure" and "ridiculous."

"I don't know if it's a diversion or not, 'cause it's a pretty good diversion," Burchett said, according to video tweeted by NewsNation's Joe Khalil.

Derrick Evans, a former member of the West Virginia House and self-described "January 6 patriot," compared the investigation to those that have led to trials and convictions for Capitol rioters.

"Just like the J6 pipe bomber and the SCOTUS leaker, nothing will happen," Evans tweeted. "All resources must be used to track down grandma's [sic] who peacefully protested a stolen election on January 6."

Newsweek reached out to Greene and Burchett for comment.