With less than a month remaining in President Joe Biden's term, and roughly 17 months after cocaine was found at the White House, the culprit behind the incident remains unidentified.
Experts say it's unlikely a suspect ever will be identified, according to The Washington Times.
"I don't think that we are ever going to hear anything about the cocaine ever again, unfortunately," Robert McDonald, a former supervisory Secret Service agent who worked in the presidential protection division, told the Times.
"It's a sad state of affairs that the Secret Service chose to close the investigation as quickly as it did, and it's a sad state of affairs that the administration did nothing to assist the investigation."
On July 2, 2023, cocaine was found in a working area of the White House's West Wing. It was near an entrance commonly used to give tours and where visitors are instructed to place their phones and other belongings.
The location also is near a basement entrance, one floor below the Oval Office and just steps from the Situation Room.
The Secret Service conducted a brief investigation that found no fingerprints or DNA on the bag of cocaine, and surveillance footage of the area didn't identify a suspect.
"Did they dust the box for fingerprints? The key that opened the box? There is so much the Secret Service could have done if they wanted to look at this like law enforcement agencies usually do, but they just stood down," Eric Caron, a former Department of Homeland Security special agent, told the Times.
Critics still question why the Secret Service closed the investigation after 11 days without a single interview and immediately disposed of the white powder after concluding its investigation.
Also, the presence of cocaine in the White House made people wonder how easily a more dangerous substance, such as anthrax or fentanyl, could enter the mansion.
The Times pointed out that the Biden administration in 2021 fired five staffers who failed a test for marijuana.
"At this point, it should be about lessons learned to make sure this never happens again," Caron told the Times.
The president and his family had left for Camp David when the cocaine was discovered but had been at the White House earlier that day.
First son Hunter Biden, who has a history of substance abuse, was convicted earlier this year of lying on a federal gun form by claiming he was not a drug user when he purchased a firearm. The president recently issued a pardon for his son.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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