The Secret Service is leading the investigation into the cocaine found Sunday at the White House in a working area of the West Wing, and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is calling for transparency.
"The Secret Service has not yet confirmed where in the West Wing the cocaine was found," Cotton wrote in a letter Wednesday to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. "I urge you to release that information quickly, as the American people deserve to know whether illicit drugs were found in an area where confidential information is exchanged.
"If the White House complex is not secure, Congress needs to know the details, as well as your plan to correct any security flaws."
Cocaine was determined to be the white powder tested by the District of Columbia Fire Department, Newsmax White House correspondent James Rosen reported earlier this week.
Cotton's letter contained the following questions and requests:
- Furnish a complete list of those with "access to the White House complex without passing through any security screening."
- Furnish a complete list of those with "access to the White House complex while subject to lesser security screening requirements than the most complete screening required of individuals accessing the West Wing," in addition to "a description of the lesser screening requirements and the reasons" for less screening requirements.
- "How many visitors to the interior of the White House are screened by the Secret Service's K-9s each year," and why would the Secret Service choose not to use K-9 screening?
- "How often has the Secret Service encountered illegal drugs at the White House complex? How often were these drugs detected during security screenings, and how often were these drugs encountered inside secure areas?"
- Will the Secret Service make an arrest after the investigation reveals the individual responsible for the cocaine at the White House?
- How often does the Secret Service audit security procedures and adjust for "potential flaws?" When was the last security audit, and what did it find?
Multiple media outlets reported Wednesday afternoon that the cocaine was found in a West Wing entrance where visitors place their belongings before starting tours.