FBI reopens investigations into White House cocaine incident and supreme court leak

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Monday it will relaunch investigations into two politically charged incidents: the 2023 discovery of cocaine at the White House and the 2022 leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade.

The decision was made public by FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and conservative media personality, who stated on social media platform X that he has ordered weekly briefings on the progress of both cases.

“These are matters of national trust and institutional integrity,” Bongino wrote, vowing a "thorough and independent" pursuit of the facts.

Cocaine at the White House

The July 2023 cocaine discovery—a small bag of white powder found in a storage cubby near the West Wing entrance—sparked a wave of speculation, especially among Republican lawmakers and commentators. The Biden family was not in Washington at the time of the incident, and a Secret Service investigation concluded without identifying a suspect.

Despite the absence of conclusive evidence, former President Donald Trump and his allies frequently claimed the drugs must have been tied to President Biden or his son, Hunter, allegations the White House denounced as “incredibly irresponsible.”

Bongino, without presenting evidence, has claimed he had been contacted by “whistleblowers” who were “suspicious” about potential links between the bag’s contents and individuals in the president’s inner circle.

The Supreme Court Leak

The second case concerns the unauthorized publication of a draft Supreme Court opinion by Politico on May 2, 2022, which revealed the court’s intention to overturn Roe v. Wade—a decision that became official weeks later and marked a seismic shift in U.S. abortion law.

The leak triggered outrage from conservatives, including Trump, who called for imprisoning journalists unless they revealed their sources. A subsequent Supreme Court investigation, led by the Marshal of the Court, failed to determine the source of the leak. No charges were filed.

Bongino’s move to reopen the case is expected to face legal and constitutional scrutiny, particularly surrounding issues of press freedom and the protection of journalistic sources under the First Amendment.

Additional FBI Priorities

Bongino also revealed plans to allocate more resources to another unsolved case: the placement of pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters on January 5, 2021, the day before the Capitol riot. The bombs were safely defused, but the perpetrator remains unidentified.

Political Repercussions

The announcement of these investigations comes as former President Trump intensifies his re-election campaign and continues to attack federal institutions as biased against conservatives. The revived probes are likely to further inflame partisan divisions, with critics accusing Bongino of politicizing the bureau’s priorities.

Legal experts say the move could also renew debate over the independence of federal law enforcement at a time when the FBI’s leadership has already been under pressure from both ends of the political spectrum.

The Justice Department has not yet commented on whether it supports or authorized the reopening of these investigations. As of Monday evening, no new evidence had been publicly disclosed.

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