The Secret Service found cocaine at the White House

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The Secret Service found cocaine at the White House, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday evening while President Joe Biden was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing, and a preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine, two law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/white-house-suspicious-substance-cocaine-bd7a792357a85453cf55b6c955ff1b4f?

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❄️ White House skirts #cocainegate questions

The cocaine found Sunday in the West Wing of the White House was in a "heavily traveled area" where many visitors pass through, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters today.

• The Washington Post reports the drug was discovered near cubbies where visitors are asked to leave their phones before entering the West Wing.

Why it matters: The bizarre discovery, which took place while Biden was away at Camp David, has fueled online conspiracy theories and raised new questions about White House security.

• Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) sent a letter to the Secret Service today demanding answers, including whether the cocaine was found "in an area where confidential information is exchanged."
• Some Republicans — including Trump — have used the incident to renew their attacks on Hunter Biden, who has been public about his struggles with addiction. The president's son is now sober and there's no evidence tying him to the incident.

The latest: NBC News reports that investigators are testing the cocaine baggie for DNA and fingerprints that could help identify a suspect — a process that could take weeks.

Flashback: As C-SPAN helpfully reminds us, cocaine has been in the White House before: During an anti-drug address from the Oval Office in 1989, then-President George H.W. Bush held up a bag of crack cocaine he said had been seized across the street.