Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Can’t Get His Story Straight On His Aimless Drug Policy Withdrawal
This is Wheeler's pattern: Say all the stuff the radical activists say, and then blame others when leftist policies leave downtown Portland to rot.
Panic set in Sunday evening at the White House following the discovery of an unknown substance in the West Wing by members of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service.
TheBlaze reported that precautionary closures were implemented while DC Fire and EMS investigated.
A firefighter with the department's hazardous material team radioed the results of a field test around 8:49 p.m., noting, "We have a yellow bar saying cocaine hydrochloride," reported the Washington Post.
An official familiar with the investigation confirmed to the Post that the transmission was indeed from the White House and that the preliminary test had turned up a positive result for cocaine.
United States Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi indicated that "an investigation into the cause and manner" is under way to determine how the substance entered the White House.
DC Fire and EMS told TheBlaze the investigation is being handled by the Secret Service.
According to Guglielmi, the alleged cocaine was found by Secret Service members while conducting routine rounds through the executive mansion.
Authorities have sent the sample to a lab for additional tests.
President Joe Biden was not in the White House at the time of the brief evacuation, as he and first lady Jill Biden had left for Camp David Friday, reported Newsweek. Hunter Biden and his son Beau apparently joined the president for the weekend getaway.
Whoever misplaced the alleged cocaine might take solace in Hunter Biden's story of recovery.
The first son was kicked out of the Navy Reserve for cocaine use and told the New Yorker that he turned up for at least one Burisma board meeting high on the illicit substance.
A 2016 police report indicated that Hunter Biden, who referred to himself in his memoir as a "functioning addict," returned a rental car in Arizona that contained "a small ziplock bag with a white powdery substance inside" along with a cocaine pipe, reported the Washington Examiner.
In a 2018 relapse, Hunter Biden noted he "used [his] superpower — finding crack anytime, anywhere."
Despite his difficult, prison-free journey to recovery, Hunter Biden has enjoyed the support of the president, who maintains he is "smartest guy" he knows.
TheBlaze has reached out to the Secret Service for comment and is awaiting a response.
A major drug bust in upstate South Carolina resulted in 124 charges against 34 defendants allegedly involved with a Mexican cartel trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine in the southeast.
State Attorney General Alan Wilson announced grand jury indictments Wednesday against the owners of the Los Primos restaurant in Greenville, S.C. The attorney general's office said the restaurant served as a regional hub through which drugs were trafficked to other states, with some drugs allegedly trafficked out of taco trucks owned by the restaurant owners.
“The upstate has become a hub," Wilson said at a press conference. "When you look at the I-85 corridor from Charlotte to Atlanta, obviously it’s an artery for this type of illicit activity.”
The case, dubbed "Los Banditos" by investigators, has to date resulted in the seizure of nearly 11 kilograms (24 pounds) of methamphetamine, 584 grams (1.3 pounds) of cocaine, approximately $63,000 in cash, and over 20 firearms in South Carolina, according to the attorney general.
“This major drug trafficking ring was anything but unbelievable,” said Solicitor Walt Wilkins.
Investigators believe the alleged drug traffickers were responsible for moving more than 1,000 kilograms (more than one ton) of methamphetamine, 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of cocaine, and 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of heroin in the state.
Wilkins said the amount of drugs flowing through upstate South Carolina is at the highest level he's ever seen.
“It is much more significant," he said. "There’s much more volume flowing into our communities. It’s much more organized, as seen in this case. Thousands of kilos of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine were pumping into Greenville County.”
He said the street value of the more than 1,000 kilos of methamphetamine seized by law enforcement is over $75 million.
South Carolina partnered with Georgia and federal authorities to make the drug bust. Information from the Los Banditos investigation was used to make another bust in Atlanta, where authorities seized approximately 200 kilos (441 pounds) of methamphetamine, 3.5 kilos (7.7 pounds) of cocaine, 3.2 kilos (7 pounds) of heroin, 5 ounces of cocaine mixed with fentanyl, 183 pounds of marijuana, 900 Xanax pills, and multiple firearms from stash houses in apartments, the attorney general's office said.
Investigators alleged the drug operation was linked to a Mexican drug cartel. Attorney General Wilson said that drugs in the southeast are typically trafficked across the southern border and sent to Atlanta, where they are then distributed to neighboring states.
“The cartel we believe is primarily involved in this is La Familia," Homeland Security Deputy Special Agent Mike Prado said. "A well-known, very violent cartel that’s operated for many years in Mexico.”
The attorney general's office said a "substantial portion" of the drugs seized in Atlanta were intended for South Carolina.
“If you engage in this illicit type of activity, drug trafficking, you’re going to eventually get busted and we’re going to put you away,” Wilson said.