One of former president Donald Trump’s ex-spokespersons has poured cold water on the idea that a small bag of cocaine found in the West Wing belonged to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Kayleigh McEnany, who served as White House Press Secretary in 2020 and 2021 before signing on as a Fox News host, said on Thursday that the offending narcotic could not have belonged to the younger Mr Biden because he and the rest of the First Family departed from the White House last Friday, two days before the drugs were found near a lower-level entrance to the West Wing.
“For it to be Hunter Biden, he left on Friday, he was at Camp David. There is no way, it is inconceivable to think cocaine could sit for a 72-hour period [at The White House], so I would rule him out at this point,” she said.
McEnany’s pronouncement during an appearance on the network’s Fox and Friends morning programme came just hours before it was reported that the small bag of drugs had been discovered in a different location than earlier reported.
While it was initially said that the cocaine was discovered in the West Wing main lobby, NBC News reported on Thursday that it was actually found near a lower-level entrance to the building which opens across from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
That entrance, which is next to the location where the Secret Service parks Vice President Kamala Harris’ armoured vehicles when she is at the White House, is used mainly by staff and VIP visitors. It is also located close to the entrance for the White House Situation Room and some National Security Council offices.
The location matches up with a description of the area provided by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who on Wednesday called it “heavily, heavily trafficked, heavily traveled, to be more accurate, area of the campus of the White House”.
