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Drugs Published July 5, 2023 5:04pm EDT

Karine Jean-Pierre lined with

questions about cocaine found in
White House
The Biden administration was powdered in controversy over the 4th of July holiday

By Joseph A. Wulfsohn | Fox News

White House says cocaine was found in 'heavily-traveled area' of White House
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the Secret Service will get to the bottom of the incident.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was barraged with questions from
reporters about the cocaine that was allegedly found in the West Wing over the weekend.

"Can you give any more details on whether the Secret Service found the cocaine in the
West Wing and how it found it?" Associated Press reporter Josh Boak kicked off the line in
inquiries.

"So, as you know, this is under the purview of the Secret Service," Jean-Pierre responded.
"They are currently investigating what happened over the weekend. So I would have to
refer you to the Secret Service on all of this."

"As you know, the President and the First Lady and their family were not here this weekend,
as you all reported on this and as you also know that they left on Friday and returned just
yesterday," she continued. "Where this was discovered is a heavily-traveled area where
many White House- West Wing, should be even more specific, West Wing visitors come
I

through this particular area, just don't have anything more to share."
I

MEDIA JOKES ABOUT COCAINE FOUND IN WHITE HOUSE: WE NEED A ‘BLOW BY BLOW’
PROBE OF THIS

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed by reporters about the cocaine that was allegedly found in
the West Wing over the weekend. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

When asked by Reuters correspondent Steve Holland about whether President Biden
himself has expressed he wants to "get to the bottom" of Cocainegate, Jean-Pierre
reiterated that the Secret Service was investigating the matter and that the White House
has "confidence" that the agency will find out what happened.

"Isthe White House conducting its own internal investigation," ABC News correspondent
Rachel Scott asked, later pressing "Can you explain to the American people who would
have access to the West Wing on this type of tour and what kind of protocols are in
place?" Jean-Pierre deferred both questions to the Secret Service.

SECRET SERVICE INVESTIGATING SUSPECTED COCAINE DISCOVERED INSIDE WHITE

HOUSE

"Iwonder if the cocaine episode has prompted the White House to ask the Secret Service
to review its security protocols" CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang said, something
Jean-Pierre said they'll wait until an investigation is complete.

Jiang then asked if the episode "shines a light" on the fact that "illegal substances" can be
brought into the White House and what's preventing visitors from bringing substances like
anthrax, a question Jean-Pierre also dodged.

Cocaine was found in an area of the West Wing that is used by both guests and staff. (Marcus Brandt/picture alliance via
Getty Images)

CBS News Radio correspondent Steve Portnoy later pressed the White House about which
entrance the cocaine allegedly came in from and NBC News correspondent Mike Memoli
asked about the specific "scope" of the Secret Service's investigation and whether criminal
prosecution is the end goal, which she also declined to answer.

Wall Street Journal correspondent Catherine Lucey asked Jean-Pierre if White House
staffers will undergo drug testing as a result of the investigation. Jean-Pierre responded
by saying White House staffers are already subjected to "rigorous guidelines that include
drug testing."

BIDEN SNAPS AT REPORTER AFTER STUDENT DEBT HANDOUT DEFEAT AT SUPREME

COURT: ‘I DIDN’T GIVE ANY FALSE HOPE'

"How determined is the president to get to the bottom of who brought illegal drugs to the
White House?" Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked.

"The Secret Service is getting to the bottom of it and that's what matters, and it's under
their purview," Jean-Pierre responded.

"But the question was how determined is the president," Heinrich pushed back.

"The President thinks it's very important to get to the bottom of this," Jean-Pierre replied.
"That's why the Secret Service, which is under their purview, is looking into this. And they're
going to look into what happened this weekend. So the President thinks this is incredibly
important to get to the bottom of this."

Many on social media joked that the cocaine found in the White House belonged to President Biden's son Hunter, a
recovered crack cocaine addict. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

President Biden was at Camp David at the time of the discovery of the substance. The
president's son, Hunter, who is a recovered crack cocaine addict was also at Camp David ,

at the time of discovery.

The cocaine was found in an area of the West Wing that is used by both guests and staff.
An anonymous law enforcement official told Politico on Wednesday that the culprit was
unlikely to be discovered

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.

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