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.