Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has requested a briefing regarding the discovery of cocaine at the White House, as The Epoch Times reported.

Comer stated in a letter to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle dated July 7 that the committee is investigating the matter.

"This alarming development requires the Committee to assess White House security practices and determine whose failures led to an evacuation of the building and finding of the illegal substance," Comer said. "The Committee requests the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) provide additional information.

"The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House’s history. According to a senior law-enforcement official, the cocaine was found in a storage facility that is 'routinely used by White House staff and guests to store cell phones.'”

According to reports, USSS agents discovered a suspicious white powder inside the White House, which prompted an evacuation of White House staff and personnel. The substance has since been confirmed to be cocaine.

Comer described the detection of the illicit substance on July 2 as "unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House's history."

White House Response

According to the White House, the illicit substance was discovered near the West Wing.

“What I wanted to be very clear is that this is a heavily, heavily trafficked—heavily traveled to be more accurate—area of the campus of the White House,” said White House Press Secretary Kaine Jean-Pierre on July 5.

“It is where visitors to the West Wing come through.”

However, reporting by NBC News indicated that the bag was found near the Situation Room, which is an area not open to the public.

More Details

According to the media outlet, which cited sources familiar with the Secret Service investigation, the illicit substance "was discovered in an entrance area between the foyer and a lower-level lobby, near where some vehicles, such as the vice president's limousine or SUV, are parked."

The cocaine appeared to have passed through the White House's stringent Secret Service security. The Secret Service stated on July 5 that the illicit substance may have been left by a White House employee or authorized visitor.

Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, told The Epoch Times that a large number of individuals pass through the area. It is a public area accessible to those authorized to be in the West Wing.

Comer stated that the incident "has raised additional concerns with the committee regarding the level of security maintained at the White House."

He requested a July 14 briefing on the incident.

On July 7, Ms. Jean-Pierre expressed confidence that the Secret Service would "get to the bottom of it."