MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell said Wednesday on her show “Andrea Mitchell Reports” that it was “pretty wild” cocaine was found at the White House.
Partial transcript as follows:
MITCHELL: We have just learned that a formal lab has confirmed the suspicion that that white powdery substance found in the West Wing on Sunday was, in fact, positive for cocaine. The discovery led to a brief evacuation of the White House Sunday night. Joining us now is NBC White House correspondent Mike Memoli. So, Mike, where do things stand now? This is so unusual. You and I have covered the White House for years. I can’t even fathom anything like this having been found before in the West Wing. And I go back to the 70s at the White House. So this is pretty, pretty wild.
MIKE MEMOLI: It’s absolutely extraordinary, Andrea. And this new conclusive test confirms what had been the preliminary field test conducted by D.C. fire personnel who were called in on Sunday night after the discovery of this suspicious substance by a uniformed officer in the Secret Service that was conducting a routine patrol of the White House. And so to recap on the developments that we’ve been reporting on yesterday, this was found, we understand, in a highly-trafficked common area of the West Wing. It’s an area where individuals, especially visitors, individuals who may be coming for, for instance, say private tour, might have been asked to leave some of their personal belongings before heading into more sensitive areas of the West Wing, which, of course, includes the president’s, the vice president’s office, some of the most senior officials offices, as well as the press team and a number of deputies. And so this is an extraordinary discovery here.
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