The Secret Service rushed members of the House Oversight Committee into a highly secured SCIF Thursday to tell them what they found about who brought cocaine into the West Wing.

The answer: “We don’t know and we’re done trying to find out.”

Astonishingly, the same Federal government that has spent 30 months plucking old grandmas out of a crowd of hundreds of thousands can’t seem to isolate who among a finite list of possible suspects left their cocaine inside one of the most secure parts of one of the most secure places on the planet. What’s more? They’ve given up trying.

The Secret Service Speaks

The Secret Service itself released a statement saying they could not “single out a person of interest” and are concluding their investigation.

This review included a backwards examination that spanned several days prior to the discovery of the substance and developed an index of several hundred individuals who may have accessed the area where the substance was found.

The drugs were found “inside a receptacle used to temporarily store electronic and personal devices prior to entering the West Wing.”

The results came back from the FBI lab Wednesday night: Investigators “did not develop latent fingerprints and insufficient DNA was present for investigative comparisons.”

Therefore, the Secret Service is not able to compare evidence against the known pool of individuals.

There was no surveillance video footage found that provided investigative leads or any other means for investigators to identify who may have deposited the found substance in this area. Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered.

At this time, the Secret Service’s investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence.

That’s it? They’re giving up already? How many interviews did they do? (None, apparently.) How many drug tests? How many noses were held to the grindstone? If it was found in a receptacle for personal devices, whose devices were in the receptacle? No fingerprints? As Joe Concha noted, “apparently the suspect wore gloves on a summer day.”

Who knows? Maybe it’s the same person who leaked the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Or left the pipe bombs on J6.

The Secret Service Must Do Better

The Secret Service must do better than this.

Two reasons: First, we know from Hunter Biden’s gun case that the Secret Service rushed in to try and clean up his mess, asking the gun dealer for Hunter’s paperwork at a time when the Secret Service wasn’t even supposed to be protecting the son of the former VP. So for their own credibility the Secret Service cannot give the appearance of brushing off a case involving a drug the First Son is known to have enjoyed.

Again, we have no idea if the drugs were Hunter’s. In fact, for his sake they can’t simply drop the investigation. The Twitter reaction to the Secret Service ending its search already is gluing the bag to Hunter’s forehead.

The second reason the Secret Service investigation must do better: As an American citizen I need to know the President and Vice President of the United States are protected. We can’t just shrug our shoulders and say, “It was just a small amount of coke.” Or “we gave it the college try.” Somehow an illicit substance got past all the highly-trained sniffers, all the top-of-the-line sensors, all the cameras, all the guards, all the staff. And the Secret Service doesn’t want to keep digging to find out how?

Unacceptable.

Today cocaine. Tomorrow anthrax.

You can read the full Secret Service statement here. Tell me if you’re satisfied.

What is Going On? History Shows the High Cost of Lax Security

Last week, Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent insisted cocaine couldn’t get past White House security measures. The cocaine, he said, had to belong to someone who didn’t go through security checks. That, according to Bongino, would only include family members or Secret Service itself.

Did a family member or Secret Service member allow someone to bypass the security check? Isn’t that worthy of further investigation? Is somebody getting lax?

Again, we need to know the president is protected. I remember when Ronald Reagan was shot, a cameraman said he had been complaining that the rope line had been way too close, and the crowd including John Hinkley should have been pushed back. Stories abound about how JFK’s Secret Service detail had gotten sloshed the night before and was moving a little slow that fateful November day.

We need to know the Secret Service isn’t getting sloppy. And the times are far too dangerous for the Secret Service to get complacent. 

Soldier of Fortune Doubles Down on Claim Officials Do Know Who The Coke Belongs To

The evening before the Secret Service closed the case without naming a suspect, Soldier of Fortune reported that fingerprints were found on the bag of cocaine and “officials at the White House know who handled the drug.” And have known since last week. Soldier of Fortune claims to know the name of the person, but is withholding it pending official confirmation.

As of 1 p.m., Soldier of Fortune has not retracted their story. In fact, they’ve doubled down, tweeting. “Officials are lying.” 

One final bit of interesting information: Politico reported last week “one official familiar with the investigation cautioned that the source of the drug was unlikely to be determined given that it was discovered in a highly trafficked area of the West Wing.” Why was someone leaking so quickly that a suspect was not going to be identified?

In both cases we are paying the cost of the shredded credibility of the government. It becomes our task to elect leaders who through their actions restore credibility to our government bodies.

Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream, chief barista for The Brew and co-author, with John Zmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl at GETTR, Gab, Parler, and now at TRUTH Social.