|
The
source said the powder was found in the West Wing, but gave no
further details.
The West Wing is attached to the executive mansion where
President Joe Biden lives. It houses the Oval Office, the
cabinet room and press area, and offices and workspace for the
president's staff.
Hundreds of people work in or come through the West Wing
regularly.
The Secret Service said on Tuesday that an "unknown item" had
been found in work space within the West Wing on Sunday, leading
to the temporary closing of the White House complex.
"On Sunday evening, the White House complex went into a
precautionary closure as officers from the Secret Service
Uniformed Division investigated an unknown item found inside a
work area," a Secret Service spokesperson said in an emailed
statement.
A second source familiar with the matter said the substance was
found during a routine Secret Service sweep of the area.
It was later identified as cocaine.
"The DC Fire Department was called to evaluate and quickly
determined the item to be non-hazardous," the Secret Service
spokesperson said, adding there was "an investigation into the
cause and manner" of how the substance entered the White House.
Biden was not in the White House on Sunday. He and his family
returned from a weekend at the presidential retreat Camp David
on Tuesday morning.
The Washington Post first reported the discovery.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jeff Mason in Washington.
Editing by Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell and David Gregorio)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
