In the midst of a busy few weeks on the news front, the resolution of an old story managed to slip out — and it raises new questions about former President Joe Biden, ex-Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle, and how they handled one of the highest profile White House scandals.
Last Friday, a report from RealClearPolitics’ Susan Crabtree — who has been on the trail (or line, if you want to be punny) of the baggie of cocaine found in a White House locker in July 2023 — reported that the Secret Service acted to destroy the evidence the day after it closed the case and appears to have punished the official who Cheatle overruled when it came to destroying the narcotic substance.
In the Friday report, Crabtree said that she had discovered new documents regarding the rapidity with which the evidence was destroyed, which she said “are raising new questions about the scrupulousness of the investigation.”
“A U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency document titled ‘Destruction’ states that the bag of cocaine was sent to the Metropolitan Police Department for incineration,” Crabtree reported.
“That document, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, doesn’t display a date for the destruction. But other internal Secret Service records show that the cocaine was tested by the Secret Service, the D.C. Fire Department hazmat technicians, and the FBI before being sent back to the Secret Service for storage on July 12.
“Two days later, it was transferred to the D.C. police department for destruction. The Secret Service shut down the cocaine investigation 11 days after discovering it.”
Washington, D.C., police referred all questions about the cocaine’s destruction to the FBI.
It’s worth noting that while the Secret Service’s documents said that the Metropolitan Police Department was supposed to destroy the cocaine within 24 hours, there’s no actual record of the drug’s destruction. Nevertheless, one thing’s for certain: There was no attempt at a prolonged investigation or a desire to keep the evidence preserved for any official who might undertake one.
That’s somewhat important, considering FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced, he was taking another look at how the cocaine case was handled, along with other problematic cases the Biden administration left curiously unsolved.
