A bag of cocaine found in the West Wing of the White House last month that prompted a Secret Services investigation, may have belonged to someone in the "Biden family orbit" and the President allegedly knows who the person is. And it may not be of Hunter Biden, according to reports.
Susan Katz Keating, the publisher of Soldier of Fortune magazine, made a shocking claim by citing three security sources in a report released on Sunday. She even sent a text to a phone number connected to President Joe Biden, aiming to uncover the person responsible for keeping the bag of cocaine.
Shocking Claims
Keating's account suggests that although the Secret Service officially declared on July 13 that they had concluded the investigation without pinpointing a suspect due to "lack of physical evidence," they managed to trace sufficient leads to ascertain a person's identity.
Their investigative efforts were robust enough for them to inform the president about their findings, the New York Post reported.
"If you want the name, ask Joe Biden," one source told Keating.
"He knows who it is."
"It was someone within the Biden family orbit, and it wasn't Hunter," said a second source, referring to the president's adult son — an admitted recovering drug addict.
Then, according to Keating, she texted a number provided by the White House, ostensibly to send Biden SMS messages, and asked point-blank: "Three trusted sources tell me the Secret Service gave you the name of the person who brought the cocaine into the Executive Mansion. Is this true; and if so, can you please confirm the name?"
Keating's message received a "Not Delivered" status upon sending, the outlet reported.
The Washington Post also tried to repeat the procedure by texting the identical number mentioned in the Soldier of Fortune piece.
The reaction seemed to be an automated message with a link to the Community messaging platform.
Last July, the White House disclosed that President Biden had become part of the Community platform, a text messaging system enabling celebrities to directly interact with ordinary folks.
The Biden administration introduced a phone number associated with Delaware for the Community platform, urging ordinary citizens to share their personal stories related to gun violence.
However, Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, told The Washington Post that the claims made by Soldier of Fortune, indicating that the agency had identified the owner of the cocaine and subsequently briefed the president, "is false."
"The Secret Service does not know who transported the small bag of cocaine into the White House," Guglielmi said.
"Our investigation could not lead to a person of interest and there were no discernible fingerprints or DNA that could be recovered from the packaging."
"Our source is the independent crime lab of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This institution is not affiliated with the Secret Service, or the Department of Homeland Security. The FBI is nationally accredited in this area of forensic science and they conducted a very thorough analysis of the packaging."
Who Is Susan Katz Keating?
Before acquiring Soldier of Fortune magazine and taking on the role of its publisher in May 2022, Keating had a career as a journalist. She worked as a reporter at the Washington Times, focusing on security-related topics. Later, she transitioned to the position of senior editor at the Washington Examiner.
"I noted the text because every other method I tried brought no results. I am getting a lot of good information from sources, but I have to give the White House / Biden the opportunity to respond," Keating told The Post.
"I sent several text messages, as per their offering. Each time, it bounced back as undelivered. I published the screen shot to show that I used the method the White House told me to use, and it didn't work. I wanted to document that I made the attempt."
On July 2, during a routine patrol, a Secret Service agent noticed approximately one gram of cocaine within a storage locker situated at the entrance of the West Wing, according to GOP lawmakers who were briefed about the incident.
The illicit drug was found just one level beneath the Oval Office and in close proximity to the Situation Room. However, it was highlighted that the Situation Room had not been in use for several months due to ongoing renovations.
Law enforcement officials informed lawmakers that there were no cameras strategically placed to capture any visuals of the individual involved.
The speed at which the public investigation unfolded, along with the apparent incapability or reluctance of law enforcement to determine the individual responsible for introducing illicit drugs into one of the most highly secure buildings globally, led to a sense of astonishment and indignation among Republicans and other critics of President Biden.
"I wonder where that cocaine came from, what happened?" former President Donald Trump riffed at a New Hampshire rally Tuesday.
"That was the quickest investigation I've ever seen," he added.
The cocaine was found on a Sunday evening, just two days before the Independence Day holiday.
President Biden had left for Camp David the Friday before the discovery. His son, Hunter, was with him during that time, and his presence drew attention as reports from the press pool indicated he had been seen near the White House on that particular day.
Cocaine is classified as a Schedule II drug according to the Controlled Substance Act. Its possession, usage, and distribution are prohibited under federal law.
