Within hours of cocaine being discovered inside the West Wing of the Biden White House, security officials acted swiftly to ensure it vanished completely.
An internal report—until recently kept under wraps—reveals how U.S. Secret Service agents assigned to President Joe Biden’s family quickly disposed of evidence crucial to an investigation that never identified the source of the drugs. Even with Republicans now controlling all branches of government in Washington, D.C., a thorough audit of how the cocaine was handled remains elusive.
Thanks to persistent reporting by Susan Crabtree of RealClearInvestigations, new details are finally emerging. Last month, Crabtree reported that the Secret Service acted quickly to destroy the bag of cocaine found in a locker within the West Wing. A U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency report titled “Destruction” reveals that the drugs were incinerated within 24 hours of discovery.
The document, obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, does not specify the exact date of destruction. However, the chain of custody indicates that the Secret Service handed the cocaine over to D.C. Fire Department hazmat technicians and the FBI for testing and authentication before reclaiming it.
Two days later, the drugs were transferred to the D.C. Metropolitan Police for destruction. The Secret Service closed its investigation into the incident nine days afterward.
Crabtree notes in her report that the D.C. police operate an Environmental Protection Agency-approved incinerator required for narcotics disposal. However, the report did not specify the exact date the cocaine was destroyed. Last week, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced he is reopening the investigation, citing the Secret Service’s failure to reach conclusions during the Biden administration.
“Well, I get a kick out of it on social media,” Bongino told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “People say, ‘This case isn’t a big deal. I don’t care.’ Well, I care. … You don’t care that a [potentially] hazardous substance made its way into the White House? We didn’t know what it was, and we don’t seem to have answers? Well, we’re going to get them. I’ve got a great team on it.”
The report also reveals that the FBI retained another critical piece of evidence: an envelope containing three tubes of DNA extracted from the cocaine. Crabtree notes that it remains unclear how much usable DNA was obtained, and the Secret Service has previously stated that its analysis to identify who first handled the drugs was inconclusive.
