A hazardous materials team was called to the White House on Sunday to deal with an unidentified white powder discovered in the West Wing, later revealed to be cocaine.
The White House was evacuated as a precaution when the “unknown item” was discovered, according to a U.S. Secret Service spokesperson, Fox News Digital reported.
The suspicious white power was to be analyzed further, but Newsmax reported Wednesday morning that the item was believed to be cocaine.
A call clip purportedly from D.C. Fire Hazmat posted on openmhz.com appears to identify the substance in question as “cocaine hydrochloride,” reported RedState.
BREAKING: Cocaine Hydrochloride spotted near West Executive Wing pic.twitter.com/cJLr2rnEDU
— The Triune Times (@TriuneTimes) July 3, 2023
Cocaine hydrochloride is a local anesthetic commercially available only in solution, or liquid, form. But according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, cocaine hydrochloride can be readily converted to its base crack cocaine.
In its solid form, cocaine hydrochloride is a fine white powder, and what was found would commonly be referred to as a “bag of cocaine,” reported RedState.
Other outlets — such as PJ Media — that covered the discovery of the substance and its initial assessment as a form of cocaine noted that larger mainstream outlets had yet to cover the story while it was still developing. PJ Media reported that such a response was “curious” as the evacuation of the White House and the deployment of a hazmat team would typically be a “significant story.” By Monday, major news outlets started reporting the discovery.
Newsmax contacted the Secret Service for further comment, and the agency responded, “The Secret Service does not comment on an [ongoing] investigation.”
On Monday evening, Anthony Guglielmi, spokesman for the Secret Service, said the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service discovered the substance while conducting routine sweeps of the building, reported The Washington Post. However, Guglielmi would not elaborate on where the substance was found or how it was packaged.
As of noon on Wednesday, the substance had been confirmed as cocaine, according to multiple outlets, including The Washington Post. According to the reports, the cocaine was found in the area where guests are asked to leave their phones before entering the West Wing.
