The agency said there was no surveillance video footage that provided concrete leads to identify who may have left the baggie in the White House’s guest lobby.
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The Secret Service closed an investigation on Thursday into a baggie of cocaine found in the White House.
The Secret Service said on Thursday that it had closed its investigation into how cocaine ended up in the guest lobby of the West Wing after security video failed to provide any leads and no fingerprints were found on the baggie.
Earlier this month, the small plastic envelope was found in an area of the West Wing that visitors and staff members often pass through during the day. When staff members want to bring relatives or friends on tours of the West Wing, they usually do so at night and on the weekends.
“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,” the Secret Service said in a statement issued on Thursday.
“At this time, the Secret Service’s investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence,” the agency added.
The baggie was found near an area where visitors go through security screening and leave their phones in small cubbies.
The incident has garnered significant attention from the public and questions from some Republicans about security at the White House and how often illegal substances are found there.
After the baggie was discovered on a Sunday evening, the Secret Service rolled out safety measures to prevent chemical or radiological material from spreading further into the White House. President Biden was away at Camp David with his family at the time.
The substance was tested by Washington’s fire and emergency services department and determined to be cocaine. The powder was also sent to the Homeland Security Department’s National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, where it was formally determined not to be a biological weapon.
The baggie was also sent to the F.B.I. for a forensic analysis, the Secret Service said. On Wednesday, the bureau shared the results that analysts found no latent fingerprints or enough DNA to assist the investigation.
While the F.B.I. conducted the forensic analysis, the Secret Service reviewed security footage that went back several days before the cocaine was discovered. It compared the footage to a list of several hundred people who may have been in the area near the cubbies. The hope was that the F.B.I. testing would yield forensic evidence that could be compared against the Secret Service’s list.
“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.
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Eileen Sullivan is a Washington correspondent covering the Department of Homeland Security. Previously, she worked at the Associated Press where she won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. More about Eileen Sullivan
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Source: nytimes.com
