Amid ongoing investigations into the discovery of cocaine in the West Wing of the White House, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) sent a letter to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Wednesday, urging the release of information related to the incident.
In his letter, Senator Cotton pressed Director Cheatle to confirm the location of the found substance within the West Wing, stating, “I urge you to release that information quickly, as the American people deserve to know whether illicit drugs were found in an area where confidential information is exchanged.”
The demand came in response to public reports which cited the discovery of a white powder substance, later confirmed to be cocaine, in the West Wing of the White House, according to the Senator’s press release.
However, the reports did not provide a specific location where the drugs were found.
Cotton’s letter to Director Cheatle also queried about the Secret Service’s procedures to ensure the security of the White House complex.
He wrote, “If the White House complex is not secure, Congress needs to know the details, as well as your plan to correct any security flaws.”
In a bid to delve deeper into the matter, the Arkansas senator demanded a complete list of all individuals who can access the White House complex without passing through any security screening or with less stringent security checks.
He also requested information about the Secret Service’s K-9 program’s role in screening visitors to the interior of the White House and how frequently they encountered illegal drugs within the premises in the last five years.
Referring to the US law code, Cotton pointed out that members of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division have the authority to “make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such felony.”
He questioned whether the Secret Service would invoke this provision if they were to identify the person responsible for bringing the cocaine into the White House complex.
The senator also inquired about the frequency and nature of the audits of the Secret Service’s security procedures for the White House complex and requested information about the most recent audit.
Cotton concluded his letter by thanking Director Cheatle for her prompt attention to this “important matter,” further emphasizing the gravity of the situation and the urgency of the required response.
