Discovery of cocaine at the White House has prompted wild rumors, particularly about Hunter Biden
The White House was evacuated earlier this week after cocaine was discovered in the West Wing, leading to wild speculation as to who the drugs may have belonged to.
In audio footage, logged on a site called openmhz.com, a firefighter with the D.C. department’s hazardous materials team can be heard calling in the results of a test, confirming that initial results found it was cocaine.
The discovery prompted a brief evacuation of the building before the D.C. fire department quickly determined the substance did not present a threat.
President Joe Biden was not in the White House at the time. He and first lady Jill Biden departed the White House on Friday to spend the Independence Day weekend at Camp David in Maryland with their family, including the president’s son Hunter.
Somewhat inevitably, the president’s plans with his son, a recovering drug addict, led to rumors that Hunter was responsible, despite the lack of any statement or evidence that this was the case.
Investigations into the discovery are ongoing.
Nonetheless, social media has been awash with rumors and accusations, many of them naming Hunter Biden without evidence.
Commentators quickly drew a connection between Hunter Biden, who has a history of drug addiction, with the story, even while information about the incident was scarce and without any evidence.
Hunter has visited the White House on a number of occasions recently, pictured on June 22, 2023, at the White House during a state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The discovery was made two days after Hunter was last seen at the White House as he headed to Camp David for the holiday weekend.
It’s the second time in two weeks that Hunter visited Camp David, having boarded Marine One at Fort Lesley McNair in Washington on June 25, 2023, on a previous visit.
He then left for Camp David from McNair the following weekend on June 30, 2023.
It’s not entirely clear how long Hunter and his family may have stayed at the White House, and it certainly isn’t clear which rooms in the White House he visited. In any case, there’s nothing more than his visits and history of addiction issues, it seems, that would connect him with the cocaine.
Several claimants have tried to attach Hunter more closely to the story by suggesting that he lived at the White House.
Brigitte Gabriel, a Trump supporter and the founder of the anti-Muslim group ACT for America, tweeted on July 4, 2023, that: “Hunter Biden has been rumored to be living in the White House and now cocaine is discovered in the West Wing. Coincidence?”
Conservative political writer Brent Scher also tweeted the same day: “Not surprised…but how stupid is it to write a piece about a bag of cocaine being found at the White House without at least mentioning that Hunter Biden lives there?”
Although it is not clear whether the president’s son officially resides there, his stays and public appearances have drawn scrutiny from Republicans.
