The White House has been hit by another scandal as cocaine reportedly belonging to US President Joe Biden's son is found in the West Wing as the reeling nation grapples with persisting gun violence and mass shootings.
Media reports have raised suspicions that Joe Biden's son, Hunter, who visited the White House around the time the substance was found, is the likely owner of the banned substance.
Hunter, who has a long history of narcotics and alcohol abuse, has been linked to several drug and corruption scandals. He is currently facing legal proceedings, as he has been accused of three federal crimes: illegal possession of firearms and two tax-related frauds.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing sources, that the US Secret Service (USSS), which protects the country's president and high-ranking officials, had found an "unknown item" in the West Wing of the White House late on Sunday.
One of the sources familiar with the matter said that Washington's fire department and emergency services had informed the Secret Service that the white powdery substance that they had found was cocaine.
"On Sunday evening as Independence Day events were kicking off, the White House complex went into a precautionary closure as officers from the Secret Service Uniformed Division investigated an unknown item found inside a work area," Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in an emailed statement.
A second source familiar with the matter said the powdery white substance had been found during a routine Secret Service sweep inside the work area in the West Wing of the White House.
Later, the substance was classified by related Fire Department authorities as a "non-hazardous" substance.
"The DC Fire Department was called to evaluate and quickly determined the item to be non-hazardous," the Secret Service spokesperson said, adding there was "an investigation into the cause and manner" of how the powdery white substance got into the White House.