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White House Cocaine Story Getting Weird

White House Cocaine Story Getting Weird

My initial reaction to the reports of a discovery of a pouch of cocaine in an ante room of the White House was …. disinterest.  Largely because I knew they would QUICKLY discover who left it there.  Au contraire.  It has now been several days, and as of the time of this writing, there has been no announcement about the source. 

In fact, an unnamed White House source suggested that the person belonging to the cocaine may never be discovered.  Now I am intrigued.

We have been told that the narcotic was discovered by the Secret Service in an area that is the access to the West Wing.  There appears to be some confusion on the location of the stash.  We were told that it was somewhere in a passageway that is used by staff, the White House press corps, invited guests and even tourists.  White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre placed special emphasis on those “tourists” who have access to that area.  Is that what the Secret Service is investigating.

There were also conflicting stories as to whether the President and his son were in the White House at the time the cocaine was left.  Initially, White House officials said there were not, but no one knew when the cocaine was left behind.  We do not know if it was accidentally dropped or left for a prearranged pick-up..

As a person who worked in the White House, I am familiar with that location.  It is NOT the public freeway that Jean-Pierre wants the public to believe.  The West Wing is the second most protected area of the White House – second only to the private living quarters.  It is where the President hangs out.

You average sightseeing tourists do not have access to that area.  What has been described as “tourists” are likely to be special delegations that will have a photo op with the President in the Oval Office.  There are also visitors with appointments with senior White House staffers.

You do not get access to the area without having your name registered – and without proper credentials.  You get your briefcase searched and go through a magnetometer at some point.  This is the most protected portion of the most protected building in America.

I tend to believe that every inch of that area is surveilled by cameras.  If not, the Secret Service has missed a 101-security arrangement.  In fact, it was my belief that there would be cameras everywhere that led me to believe the culprit would be identified quickly.

But nooooo.

That opened up the reporting to a lot of conjecture … speculation … and even accusations.  The first person that comes to mind is Hunter Biden, who documented his drug habit – among other things – on his personal laptop.  Most of the references to Hunter are offered up in humor – since no one really has a clue who left the stuff.  President Trump was more serious in pointing a finger at Hunter – but since we have no idea who dropped the goodie bag, that was a cheap shot.

Personally, I doubt it was left by Hunter.  He is not a common visitor to the West Wing.  He uses a different route to the family quarters.  Could someone be bringing got him.  In the absence specific information anything is possible.

If reports are accurate, the sack was more than a personal portion.   More like a dealer quantity.

Whoever brought the cocaine into the White House, they were important enough to get access to the West Wing.  Between the visitors’ log, the staff and the cameras, this should not be a tough investigation.

The failure to find the person does raise suspicions of a cover-up.  I have to believe that the Secret Service already has a pretty good idea who the culprit is.  If they do not, it is one of the more incompetent investigations in Washington.

If it was from some visitor, you would think the Secret Service and the White House would want that information out in public very quickly – to stop more damaging speculation.  Never finding the person suggests that it may have been someone higher up in the White House food chain.  

I never viewed the discovery of the cocaine as a major scandal – even at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — but even with little scandals, the cover-up is always worse than “crime.”

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So, there ‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of businessman, conservative writer and political strategist Larry Horist. Larry has an extensive background in economics and public policy. For more than 40 years, he ran his own Chicago based consulting firm. His clients included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. Larry professional emphasis has been on civil rights and education. He was consultant to both the Chicago and the Detroit boards of education, the Educational Choice Foundation, the Chicago Teachers Academy and the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Larry has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and has lectured at colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern and DePaul. He served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. Larry has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries have appeared on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by audiences for his style, substance and sense of humor. Larry retired from his consulting business to devote his time to writing. His books include a humorous look at collecting, “The Acrapulators’ Guide”, and a more serious history of the Democratic Party’s role in de facto institutional racism, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE? -- The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans ... to This Day”. Larry currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

3 Comments

  1. Tom

    It could be anyone’s goodie bag. My bet is cleaning staff is using the WH as a drop zone. The real question is not just who’s prints are on the bag, but who was the bag intended for!? And it seems that the SS are really nothing more than Keystone Cops.

    The issue I have is that I do not think the American people get the truth from their government anymore. Our US State Dept recently put out a China travel advisory saying do not go there, its a level 3 risk. They said 7 Americans were being detained without charges or access to the US Embassy consulate, and that the US State Department could not get China to tell them the charges. So I texted a few Chinese friends of mine in the mainland. They got back to me in five minutes with three of the names and news articles detailing exactly what those Americans were being held for. So why is it everyone in China seems to know why they are being held but our State Dept. does not? So go figure. Seems to me that in our government, truth seems to be taking a holiday!

  2. frank stetson

    The real question is: has Larry ever done anything illegal in the White House? A booty call? A spliff? I have all sorts of illegality in front of the White House — smokin, drinkin, even stopping traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue to play Frisbee (when there was traffic) and have even carried a small amount of weed on my tour. A friend working there during the late 70’s most certainly availed himself on many a closet for a good time, illegal. So, shit happens, pun intended….. But Larry —- no bj under the desk?

    On this article: Have you no shame?

    The only place I read about significant weight, dealer weight to be exact, was on Punching Bag Post which posted the lie and refuses to correct. It’s their proud extreme free speech initiative to promote lies whenever the editorial board can in search of the buck from it’s conservative crowd. Trying to entice Tucker I guess… :>)

    While there have been incorrect early reports, and late reports in PBP too, it has been finally reported as a trafficked area including “tourists” as in guests of staff on special guided tours. Tours were on non-working hours like Fri, Sat, and Sunday of that week. It was left in a cubby hole where people leave things before search to be retrieved later. Or on the floor, there is still some confusion on that point. There may not be cameras on the cubbies before the search zone. Hunter was at Camp David at the time.

    You undoubtedly knew all that, know better, and yet still ran every freaking conjecture under the sun with a “probably not” on Hunter as you mention Hunter is being mentioned as a possible suspect —— by unprofessional journalists shilling for a few extra bucks via yellow journalism. As yellow as some jaundiced malaria patients in Florida, the inflation State that is conservatively bringing back eradicated diseases under DeSantis’ rule.

    Bottom line: Secret Service briefing on Thursday as noted last week. As promised and reported last week. But you knew that too, didn’t you. No cover up yet except as alluded to in your piece. They may just end up with a pool of potential suspects, no video, and the investigation will probably provide recommendations to fix that break in security procedures.

    Let’s wait for the Secret Service briefing before you erect the gallows for those involved in the coverup. At this point, it’s just unprofessional journalist and op ed types baying at the moon.

    Have you no shame?

    • larry Horist

      Frank Stetson … Once again you respond with misinformation, disinformation and probable lies. You never worked in the White House — apparently limiting your association with the building to “smoking” outside the front gate. My interest was roused when the Secret Service did not find the culprit more expeditiously. They have the cameras, the registration data and all sorts of potential eye witnesses. You simply do not go into that area surreptitiously. In addition to the cameras, folks entering the West Wing are almost never out of sight of others … guards, secret service, staffers, other visitors. The room with the cubby holes is on camera. You do not need to have a camera in the cubby hole to see who is putting what where. The items left in the cubby holes are searched — electronically or physically. Do you really thing they would allow a bomb to be put in the cubby hole on the first floor of the West Wing? Your response is characteristically sarcastic and insulting. But more importantly, it is stupid. You simply make of this crap up in your mind without actually knowledge. And as usual, you incorporate all your anti-Republican drivel that has nothing to do with the topic. You are a man possessed.