By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted yesterday at 21:20, Updated yesterday at 23:54
Republicans are calling on the Secret Service to shed light on this case.
The discovery of cocaine in the White House, confirmed on Wednesday, sparked a political controversy, the spokeswoman for the executive ensuring that the drug was found in an area frequented by outside visitors while the president and his family were absent.
Earlier, the Secret Service – in charge of the security of the high personalities of the American State – had confirmed after analysis that the white powder found Sunday in the famous west wing of the building, turned out to be cocaine.
Investigation “in progress»
The substance was initially considered potentially dangerous, prompting a brief evacuation. Suspicious powders regularly received by mail in US official buildings are treated as potential chemical or bacteriological attacks. Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, said Wednesday that an investigation was “in progress“. The discovery of the cocaine in the White House led to speculation within the American media about the identity of the person responsible. Several personalities on the right immediately pointed the finger at the president’s son, Hunter Biden, because of his past strewn with addictions.
Donald Trump himself accused Joe and Hunter Biden in a message punctuated with insults. “Does anyone really believe that the COCAINE found in the West Wing of the White House, very close to the Bureau ovale, was for the use of anyone other than Hunter and Joe Biden?“said the former Republican president on his Truth Social network. Republican Senator Tom Cotton on Wednesday called on the Secret Service to release the exact location where the gunpowder was found. “The American people deserve to know if illegal drugs have been discovered in an area where confidential information is shared“, he wrote in a letter to the director of the Secret Service.
Read alsoHunter Biden, the cumbersome son of the President of the United States
Reflecting the emerging controversy, journalists present at the meeting between Joe Biden and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday asked far more questions about this discovery than about Stockholm’s potential NATO membership. The White House tried to extinguish the fire by explaining that the first clues pointed to the responsibility of a visitor.
Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the drugs were in an area frequently used by outside visitors invited by White House staff. Before entering sensitive areas of the building, these visitors must leave their phones in lockers. It was in one of these lockers that the cocaine was found. She also insisted that the Biden family was not present at the White House over the weekend. The spokesperson concluded questions on the subject by saying: “We’re confident the Secret Service will get the hang of it.».
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2023-07-05 19:20:00
#United #States #cocaine #discovered #White #House
