EXCLUSIVE: Fingerprints Found on Cocaine Bag at White House, Security Sources Say
by Susan Katz Keating
Officials at the White House know who handled a packet of cocaine that was found inside the Executive Mansion, and have confirmed that finding via fingerprint evidence, according to sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.
“We know who handled it,” one security source said. “We’ve known since last week.”
Two sources disclosed the name of the person who is believed to have handled the packet. Soldier of Fortune is withholding the name pending official confirmation.
Agents with the U.S. Secret Service found “suspicious white powder” inside the White House on July 2, prompting an emergency evacuation while tests were performed on the powder. A lab test proved that the white substance was cocaine.
Another test brought back a hit on fingerprints, the security source said.
The results came in quickly on the fingerprints because the sample was sent to a unit that gets results within 24 hours.
Soldier of Fortune on Wednesday filed formal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with three agencies that are likeliest to know about the fingerprint results. The agencies are the Washington, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department; the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia; and the U.S. Secret Service.
Representatives from the Secret Service, meanwhile, will meet on Thursday morning with the House Oversight Committee to discuss the cocaine incident, according to Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
The committee chairman, James Comer (R-KY) last week asked Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to provide “a staff level briefing” on the cocaine issue by July 14.
“The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House’s history,” Comer wrote in his July 7 letter to Cheatle.
In the letter, Comer did not mention fingerprints.
Federal rules regarding FOIA requests gives the agencies until Aug. 1 to respond to the request from Soldier of Fortune.