Secret Service Investigating After Cocaine Found on White House Grounds

The U.S. Secret Service is conducting an investigation after a substance confirmed to be cocaine was found on the ground floor of the White House over the weekend.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has requested answers from the Secret Service in a letter addressed to the agency on Wednesday. Cotton is asking for a list of individuals allowed on White House grounds without a security screening and information as to whether and how many times illegal drugs have been discovered in the complex in the past five years.

The substance was discovered by Secret Service agents Sunday in an area near where visitors are directed to leave their phones when taking tours of the West Wing, which contains the Oval Office. A formal lab test of the white substance found at the White House on Sunday has come back positive for cocaine, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation.

The Secret Service is running the investigation, which will include consulting cameras and entrance logs, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The blurry timeline and number of people who walk through the area where the cocaine was found could make it difficult to determine who was responsible for the substance.

The Secret Service has not yet released any information regarding the investigation or the identity of the person responsible for the cocaine. It is unclear how the substance ended up on the White House grounds or how long it had been there.