While President Biden's spokespeople refuse to say whether the administration will be transparent with the American people about the results of the Secret Service investigation of the cocaine found in the West Wing on Sunday, those "involved" with the situation changed their story on Thursday.
According to NBC News, "multiple officials involved in the White House cocaine inquiry now say the bag of powder was found in a cubby near the White House's West Executive entrance, not the formal West Wing lobby as was previously reported."
So, what was stated before was either incorrect or a lie? That should help the Biden administration brush off the appearance of being engaged in some sort of cover-up...
The location officials described most recently to NBC News is "an entrance area between the foyer and a lower-level lobby...near where some vehicles, like the vice president’s limo or SUV park."
NEW: The White House is now claiming the cocaine was found "in a much more secure place ... near the Situation Room" and next to "where, for example, the vice president's vehicle is parked." pic.twitter.com/N17r8YJyVV
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2023
That entrance location is, as NBC explained, "one floor below the main West Wing offices and the same floor as the Situation Room and a dining area."
For anyone who's entered the White House there or spent time in the West Wing, there's not as much space or distance between areas as some might expect. That means there was a bag of cocaine not terribly far from the Situation Room, one of the most sensitive, protected, and vital areas in the White House.
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"It is one floor below the main West Wing offices and the same floor as the Situation Room and a dining area." https://t.co/0fRQnv8CXX
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) July 6, 2023
Still, despite changing their story on where the cocaine was found, the officials who spoke to NBC News reiterated some of what Karine Jean-Pierre said in Wednesday's briefing: the "new" location of the cocaine "was also heavily trafficked." But the White House is not Grand Central Station or a concourse at an NFL stadium, and that term, in the White House, doesn't mean all that much.
If this situation of changing stories seems familiar, it should. Back when Biden and his administration were slogging through revelation after revelation about the classified documents then-Vice President Biden had taken at the end of his term, the declarations coming from the White House were frequently and repeatedly changed to reflect more documents found in new locations.
The White House has, as Katie reported here, refused to show much commitment to closing the whodunit case of West Wing cocaine. On the record, Biden's spokespeople have refused to say whether they'll push for prosecution of an individual determined to be the culprit, declined to say if they'll make the conclusions of the investigation and the identity of the cocaine smuggler public, and continued to suggest that we may never know whose cocaine was spotted in the White House.
Still, the Secret Service has reportedly run tests on the bag in which the cocaine was found, seeking any matches for fingerprints or DNA. According to NBC News, the "investigators expect to be done with the investigation by Monday," a shorter timeline than the previously estimated "couple of weeks."
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