Hunter Biden Claims and Cocaine in White House—What We Know, What We Don't

The White House was evacuated earlier this week after cocaine was discovered in the West Wing, leading to wild speculation as to who the drugs may have belonged to.

The substance was discovered by members of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service conducting routine rounds through the building, Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, told Newsweek.

A source familiar with the investigation told Newsweek that the substance was discovered inside a "work area" of the West Wing.

In audio footage, logged on a site called openmhz.com, a firefighter with the D.C. department's hazardous materials team can be heard calling in the results of a test, confirming that initial results found it was cocaine.

The discovery prompted a brief evacuation of the building before the D.C. fire department quickly determined the substance did not present a threat.

President Joe Biden was not in the White House at the time. He and first lady Jill Biden departed the White House on Friday to spend the Independence Day weekend at Camp David in Maryland with their family, including the president's son Hunter.

Somewhat inevitably, the president's plans with his son, a recovering drug addict, led to rumors that Hunter was in some way connected to the discovery, despite the complete lack of any statement or evidence that this was the case.

Investigations into the discovery are ongoing.

Nonetheless, social media has been awash with rumors and accusations, many of them naming Hunter Biden without evidence.

Newsweek has contacted Hunter Biden's lawyer via email for comment.

With so many raw and potentially defamatory comments, Newsweek examined some of the accusations and narratives that are pervading the story's online discussion.

What Was Hunter Biden's Schedule Around the Discovery?

Commentators quickly drew a connection between Hunter Biden, who has a history of drug addiction, with the story, even while information about the incident was scarce and without any evidence.

Hunter has visited the White House on a number of occasions recently, pictured on June 22, 2023, at the White House during a state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The discovery was made two days after Hunter was last seen at the White House as he headed to Camp David for the holiday weekend.

It's the second time in two weeks that Hunter visited Camp David, having boarded Marine One at Fort Lesley McNair in Washington on June 25, 2023, on a previous visit.

He then left for Camp David from McNair the following weekend on June 30, 2023.

It's not entirely clear how long Hunter and his family may have stayed at the White House, and it certainly isn't clear which rooms in the White House he visited. In any case, there's nothing more than his visits and history of addiction issues, it seems, that would connect him with the cocaine.

To be clear, while Hunter Biden has been candid about his history with drugs, there is no evidence to show he has used them recently. He told Bryony Gordon's Mad World Podcast in 2021 that he had been sober for two years. The links between his addiction and the cocaine in the White House remain baseless.

Does Hunter Biden Live at the White House?

Several claimants have tried to attach Hunter more closely to the story by suggesting that he lived at the White House.

Brigitte Gabriel, a Trump supporter and the founder of the anti-Muslim group ACT for America, tweeted on July 4, 2023, that: "Hunter Biden has been rumored to be living in the White House and now cocaine is discovered in the West Wing. Coincidence?"

Conservative political writer Brent Scher also tweeted the same day: "Not surprised...but how stupid is it to write a piece about a bag of cocaine being found at the White House without at least mentioning that Hunter Biden lives there?"

Although it is not clear whether the president's son officially resides there, his stays and public appearances have drawn scrutiny from Republicans.

In an op-ed for The New York Post in April, journalist Miranda Devine claimed that Hunter Biden was rumored to be living at the White House with his wife and their 3-year-old son to avoid being served with legal papers from an Arkansas mother of a child he fathered in 2018.

Devine, a New York Post journalist, is the author of Laptop From Hell: Hunter Biden, Big Tech, and the Dirty Secrets the President Tried to Hide.

None of the claims in the article have been proven so far.

The child support case was resolved last week, the Associated Press reported. Hunter Biden, who was determined to be the child's father in 2020 following a DNA test, had sought to reduce his monthly child support from $20,000.

The claim, therefore, that he lives at the White House remains unproven.

Newsweek has contacted the White House to ask whether Hunter Biden has been living there and, if he has, from when and to when.

Was It Discovered in the Library?

Initial reports suggested that the powder was discovered in the West Wing library, which is on the ground floor and is part of the public tour of the building. The suggestion was gleaned from the D.C. Fire Department radio dispatch.

Updates from the Secret Service also stated that it was found in a work area and not the library.

"On Sunday evening, 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," a USSS statement shared with the press said.

"The DC Fire Department was called to evaluate and quickly determined the item to be non-hazardous."

"The item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending."

A source familiar with the investigation also told Newsweek that the substance was discovered inside "a work area" of the West Wing. The West Wing is attached to the executive mansion where the president lives, and houses the Oval Office, the Cabinet room and press area, as well as offices and work spaces for staff.

CBS News, citing a senior law enforcement official, reported that the substance was found in a storage facility in a cubby routinely used by White House staff and guests to store cell phones.

Reports that the substance was found in an area where many people work or come through regularly has led some to criticize those speculating that Hunter Biden was its source.

"I hope Hunter sues the hell out of everyone suggesting this," Chris D. Jackson, a Tennessee election commissioner, wrote on Twitter in response to a tweet from New York Post journalist Devine commenting on Hunter Biden and the purported cocaine find.

Did Hunter Biden Work or Use His Laptop in the Library?

Despite the fact the Secret Service has since said the powder wasn't discovered in the library, commentators were quick to claim that Hunter had worked in the library based on the earlier reports.

Twitter user @GCapital_LLC, posted a tweet on July 4, 2023, viewed 124,000 times, that stated: "In a startling development, new information has emerged regarding the cocaine found at the White House.

"The bag was reportedly discovered in the library, a room where Hunter Biden is known to have used his laptop."

Commentator @USBornNRaised, tweeted the same day, and viewed 125,000 times, that: "Let's fix this: cocaine was found by Secret Service in the same room where Hunter Biden was on his laptop."

According to the White House, the Library "features a collection of selected works to represent a full spectrum of American thought and tradition for the use of the President, his family, and his staff."

As stated by the White House Historical Association, it is occasionally used for interviews or televised addresses, and is part of public tours.

While it appears the powder was discovered in a bag (so we don't know if it was used in the White House itself) the library doesn't appear to be the most surreptitious location for consuming drugs, neither does it seem to be a particularly useful place to work.

There appears to be no evidence that Hunter Biden worked in there and, in any case, the claim that the drugs were found in the library was later corrected.

Was It Crack Cocaine?

As mentioned, Hunter Biden has spoken in detail about his addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine, stating in a podcast in 2021 that he had been sober for two years.

His addiction to crack seemingly led to assertions online that that was the drug found in the White House.

User @PatrioticPizzas, tweeted on July 3, 2023: "Also... lol... they just found crack cocaine at The White House. You know... where Hunter is living?!?"

Updates about the nature of the substance found say the drug was a powder, not a rock, and there appears to be no other evidence that contradicts this assessment.

Did the Drug Belong to White House Staff?

One conceivable rumor, although unproven, is that the cocaine belonged to a White House staffer.

Cryptocurrency influencer Matt Wallace posted a tweet on July 4, 2023, viewed 5.4 million times, that read: "The Cocaine found at the White House is not from Hunter Biden. The real story is actually much worse than that!

"Many of Joe Biden's Top Staff regularly use Cocaine and other Hardcore Drugs. The cleaning crews are tasked with hiding all traces but this weekend was especially bad!"

The claim that Joe Biden's top staff "regularly" use cocaine and other "hardcore" drugs was presented without evidence, as is the suggestion that the recently found drugs belonged to staff.

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Secret Service and the White House for comment on the investigation and whether it has been linked to a staff member.

Link to Hunter Biden Driving at 172 mph

Much of the commentary around this story has dredged the long-circulating photos from the Hunter Biden laptop, some of which appear to show the president's son taking drugs. All of these photos would have been taken before 2019 when the laptop was handed into a computer store in Delaware.

None of the material shared from the laptop has shown Hunter Biden taking drugs in the White House.

However, a recent video of Hunter Biden linked to a "new" leak from the laptop allegedly showing him driving at 172 mph on a drive to Las Vegas, as reported by Fox News, has been intermingled with news about the cocaine discovery.

Conservative commentator Chuck Callesto posted a tweet on July 4, 2023, which mentioned the cocaine story in the same breath as the reports about Hunter Biden allegedly documenting himself driving at high speed.

Again, the driving footage (if it is authentic) is around four years old and is almost without doubt not linked to the cocaine found in the West Wing.

However, the interspersal of details from this news with the cocaine story creates the misleading impression they may be connected.

Is There Anything More We Can Learn From the Story?

The White House has not provided any new updates as of the time of publication about the investigation into the cocaine. Newsweek has asked for answers to a number of questions about the investigation.

However, beyond what information already exists, there is nothing more we can say other than it has helped demonstrate just how creative and baseless claims can spread online without the inconvenience of evidence.

While an absence of evidence does not disprove the culpability of Hunter Biden or any other rumored actor, all of the statements that have been made appear to be speculation not proven facts.

Update, 5/7/23, 4:45 p.m. ET: The headline on this article was updated for clarity.