FOIA Request Denied: District of Columbia’s Emergency Response Unit Withholds Information on White House Cocaine Incident

The emergency response unit for the District of Columbia has rejected a records request seeking details about its response to a cocaine discovery in the White House last month.

The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (EMS) announced on Friday that it was withholding 19 pages of documents sought under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The request was submitted by Jason Leopold.

Leopold requested the following:

1. A copy of the request and/or radio call for a Hazmat team by US Secret Service to respond to a white powdery substance found at the White House.
2. A copy of the final report of the Hazmat team’s testing of the white powder that was determined to be cocaine found at the West Wing of the White House.
3. Photographs of the substance, should any exist.
4. Emails referencing the cocaine/white powdery substance found at the White House.
5. Final incident reports/after-action reports referencing the white powdery substance determined to be cocaine that was found at the White House. (Date Range for Record Search: From 07/03/2023 To 07/05/2023)

In its response letter to the FOIA request, Christina Dalton, Information and Privacy Officer for D.C. Fire and EMS stated that it was denying the request under two specific statutes.

The first statute cited ostensibly prevents the disclosure of “investigative techniques and procedures not generally known outside of the government.”

The second statute cited by the D.C. Fire and EMS presents even more questions. They claimed that the release of the 19 pages was being withheld because they contain a “specific vulnerability assessment.” They further stated that preventing the release of this information is “intended to prevent or to mitigate an act of terrorism.”

1. D.C. Official Code § 2-534(a) (3) (E) – Cavestigatory Records/ Investigative Techniques” – Investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, including the records of Council investigations and investigations conducted by the Office of Police Complaints, but only to the extent that the production of such records would disclose investigative techniques and procedures not generally known outside of the government.
2. D.C. Official Code § 2-534(a) (10) – “Emergency Response Plan” – Any specific response plan, including any District of Columbia response plan, as that term is defined in § 7-2301(1), and any specific vulnerability assessment, either of which is intended to prevent or to mitigate an act of terrorism, as that term is defined in § 22-3152

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that a bag of cocaine was discovered in the West Wing of the White House. Recent claims suggest it might belong to an individual closely associated with the Biden family. According to sources per New York Post, President Biden may know the identity of this individual.

In a report published by Soldier of Fortune, publisher Susan Katz Keating cited information from three security sources.

“All three sources independently told Soldier of Fortune the same name, which arose from an investigation into the incident. The sources currently work for a U.S. government agency, and are not authorized to speak to the media,” Keating wrote.

Susan Katz Keating is an award-winning writer and investigative journalist who has covered military, defense, and security issues. Over the years, she has written for various publications such as Washington Times and Washington Examiner and has reported from several conflict zones, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Northern Ireland. Keating has a reputation for her in-depth reporting on U.S. military and related matters.

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