Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) sent a letter to Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service, seeking additional information regarding the measures taken by the agency to identify who deposited cocaine in the lobby area of the West Executive Avenue entrance to the White House.
It's ridiculous the Secret Service shut down the White House cocaine investigation without finding the culprit, and of course Biden officials don't want to talk about it. Too bad.
I asked for direct answers about what measures the Secret Service took to find the guilty party. pic.twitter.com/ahbfWAcGTF
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) July 20, 2023
Last Thursday, the Secret Service officially closed its investigation into the incident, citing a lack of “physical evidence,” including absence of surveillance video footage of the area and insufficient fingerprints and DNA results from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s crime laboratory.
“Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered. At this time, the Secret Service’s investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence,” the agency wrote in a press release.
On Wednesday, Burchett wrote to Cheatle, explaining his “deep concern” over the incident and requesting answers to his “additional questions” since the investigation’s wrap up.
Citing a “lack of clarity” from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Burchett requested answers from the agency by August 18 to the following questions:
- It was reported that “not enough” DNA was found on the bag of cocaine to identify the culprit. Was the DNA analyzed? If not, why?
- Was the forensics team able to find fingerprints? If so, why were they not able to identify anyone from those?
- Is there a comprehensive list of visitors to the White House? Is there a list of individuals who had access to the area in which the cocaine was found? Were these individuals questioned? If not, why?
- When and where was the cocaine found?
- When were the President, Press Secretary Jean-Pierre, and other White House Staff informed of the finding of cocaine in the White House?
Burchett also requested a timeline from the agency of the “time of discovery of cocaine until termination of the investigation,” including the “times and dates of briefings to the President and senior White House staff.”
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
