The Secret Service on Thursday still had no suspects in the investigation into who brought cocaine into the White House over the weekend, and it’s not clear whether a culprit will ever be found, a source told Fox News Digital.

The source, who is familiar with the Secret Service probe, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that it will take time to review the evidence and said officials admitted there is a possibility they will not be able to determine who brought the drugs into the White House on Sunday.

The source added that multiple tests have been run on the cocaine container, including DNA and fingerprints tests. 

The investigation is expected to be concluded early next week, and the source provided more detail on where exactly the drugs were found – in a phone cubby of an entrance off West Executive Avenue, which is in the lower-level West Wing lobby.

The location is not a place where heads of state usually come through and is usually an entrance the vice president, cabinet secretaries, White House staff and others use, according to the source.

The area is not open to public visitors except for those receiving special tours by White House staff. White House staff use it when they travel between the West Wing and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is across the non-public West Executive Avenue.

The source also told Fox News Digital that the Secret Service has received the letter sent by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton demanding answers on how the drugs made it into the White House and that they plan to respond to him.

On Wednesday, the Secret Service confirmed to Fox News that the substance found in a bag in the West Wing of the White House by a member of the Secret Service on Sunday evening was cocaine. The discovery prompted the response of a hazmat team and the fire department while the Secret Service blocked the streets around the White House.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was peppered with questions from reporters Wednesday but declined to provide details on the matter and deferred to the ongoing investigation. She also pointed out that President Biden and his son Hunter were at Camp David from Friday until Tuesday.

‘As you know, the President and the First Lady and their family were not here this weekend, as you all reported on this and as you also know that they left on Friday and returned just yesterday,’ Jean-Pierre said. ‘Where this was discovered is a heavily-traveled area where many White House, West Wing, I should be even more specific, West Wing visitors come through this particular area. I just don’t have anything more to share.’

While federal investigators have yet to determine who brought the illegal narcotics into the White House, internet bookies have identified President Biden’s son Hunter as the most likely candidate. 

Hunter, a recovering crack addict, has been given +170 odds as being the culprit by Overseas sportsbook BetOnline.ag. The site lists other potential candidates, many of which appear to be jokes such as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce who recently visited the White House.

Experts were baffled by the Biden administration invoking the Hatch Act when asked whether President Biden or his son owned the cocaine found at the White House.

The culprit behind the White House’s July snowstorm has yet to be found, and the Biden administration isn’t answering whether the president or Hunter Biden owned the Independence Day cocaine dominating the headlines this week.

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates was asked during a Thursday press gaggle whether the president can deny that he or his son owned the cocaine found at the White House – a charge leveled by former President Donald Trump. 

Bates invoked the Hatch Act — legislation that prohibits federal employees from talking about or using federal resources for campaign purposes — to dodge the white question on former President Trump’s claim that the Colombian bam-bam belonged to the president or his son.

‘I don’t have a response to that, because we have to be careful about the Hatch Act,’ Bates responded. ‘What I will say is that I have noticed there does seem to be some increasing frustration coming from that corner in general, and I think it is probably rooted in the contrast between their substantive policy records.’

Bates then compared Biden’s policy record to his predecessor’s record.

Attorney Bradley P. Moss told Fox News Digital he is ‘candidly at a loss as to why Mr. Bates believes the Hatch Act is relevant with respect to addressing that question.’

‘I could envision other legitimate bases for declining to respond, such as respecting the integrity of the ongoing investigation, but references to the Hatch Act seem misplaced,’ Moss continued.

Former Bush administration ethics chief Richard Painter, who ran for Congress as a Democrat last cycle, told Fox News Digital that he has ‘given lectures at the White House’ and published articles on the Hatch Act, but the bill ‘does not cover snorting cocaine.’

‘What the —— does the Hatch Act have to do with cocaine?’ Painter told Fox News Digital in an email. ‘This is the most ridiculous invocation of the Hatch act I’ve ever heard.’

Painter added that even if someone on Biden’s campaign were ‘high as a kite,’ the Hatch Act would not cover the cocaine in question.

Users online also blasted the White House over invoking the Hatch Act to dodge the question.

‘Odd that Bates pivots to the Hatch Act and doesn’t deny the question…’ conservative communicator Steve Guest tweeted.

Conservative journalist Jerry Dunleavy quipped that Bates was referring to that ‘famous Hatch Act provision which doesn’t allow you to say White House cocaine doesn’t belong to the president or his son.’

‘The Hatch Act?’ conservative columnist Byron York wrote.

‘The same White House who said ‘mega MAGA’ from the briefing room podium (therefore violating the Hatch Act),’ Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) communications director Mike Joyce wrote.

‘Can’t make this stuff up folks,’ he added.

Other users bore down on the White House over the dodge.

When asked for comment by Fox News Digital, Bates pointed to his gaggle answer that Trump’s comments were a direct ‘comment from a declared candidate.’

Bookies in Las Vegas — where the younger Biden sped to in his Porche in 2018 — have already started to get in on the action and have pointed to Hunter as the likely culprit behind the hard drugs found at the White House.

Overseas sportsbook BetOnline.ag gives Hunter Biden +170 odds as the owner, placing him as the most likely wrongdoer among their listed suspects, which also appears to contain joke offenders peppered throughout the list. 

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce follows with +800 odds, while ‘One of the Jonas Brothers’ carries +1000 odds, and Angelina Jolie garners +1400 odds. President Biden and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, sit at the bottom of the pack with +15000 and +10000 odds, respectively.

Another gambling site, Sportsbetting.ag, carries the same suspects and lines as BetOnline.ag, with Hunter Biden as the overwhelming favorite. Hunter took in Washington, D.C.’s Fourth of July fireworks from the White House.

Bovada, a Costa Rica-based sportsbook, is slightly more generous to Hunter. Their favorite at -400 odds is a ‘Tour Group Guest,’ followed by Hunter at +200 odds. ‘Janitorial Staff’ is behind Hunter at +1000, followed by ‘Secret Service Special Agent’ at +2000. 

Like the other sites, Bovada contains outlandish culprits, such as the fictional character Tony Montana from the 1983 movie ‘Scarface’ at +50000 odds. President Trump is also included at +5000 odds. 

On Sunday, a member of the Secret Service found the cocaine in the West Wing of the White House in an area used by guests and staff, leading to an evacuation of the building and an emergency response. President Biden was away at the time.

Fox News Digital’s Joe Schoffstall contributed reporting.

Maine lawmakers failed Thursday to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would have expanded the sovereignty of Native American tribes in the state by ensuring more federal laws apply to them.

It’s a defeat for the tribes, which are bound by a land claims settlement that puts them on different footing than the nation’s other 570 federally recognized tribes.

Both chambers had voted to enact the bill with big-enough majorities to override the veto, but some House members backtracked under pressure by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. She contends the bill was vague and would lead to lengthy and contentious litigation in coming years.

The 84-57 House vote fell short of a two-thirds majority after tribal Rep. Aaron Dana, a Passamaquoddy, implored lawmakers to vote for the tribes, saying they want the same thing that the nation’s Founding Fathers wanted.

‘We seek equality. We seek life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And we seek the liberty and the pursuit of happiness under a relationship where we have the access to the laws passed by Congress to make native communities safer and healthier,’ he said. ‘Nothing more, nothing less.’

Tribal leaders criticized the governor, calling her an impediment to progress, while offering thanks to lawmakers for their support.

‘It’s extremely disappointing that the governor insists on keeping her thumb on the tribes and the Legislature. She clearly will not be deterred from using any authority she has to oppress the tribes,’ said Chief Rena Newell of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik.

Mills, for her part, said she remains willing to work with the tribes to ensure they’re not excluded from benefits generally available to other federally recognized tribes, and called for a ‘collaborative, respectful approach’ that she said has been successful in the past.

It was an important bill for tribes in Maine who’ve long regretted trading some of their rights to the state under an $81.5 million settlement that was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980.

The agreement for the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi’kmaq, allows them to be treated much like municipalities subject to state law instead of dealing directly with the federal government like other tribes. The agreement allowed the tribes to acquire tracts of land as long as they stayed under state law and let them receive state education dollars. But the relationship also led to disagreements, and several lawsuits.

The governor contends tribal properties complicate jurisdictional concerns because so many landowners abut tribe-owned land. The governor also says just a handful of federal laws don’t apply to the tribes in Maine — such as the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act and the federal law governing disaster response — and that those can be handled on a case by case basis.

Mills has urged the tribes, the attorney general and other parties to work together to craft a proposal that is ‘clear, thoroughly vetted, and well understood by all parties.’

But the tribes increasingly see her as standing in the way of changes they say are necessary to improve their lives. Last week, Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis said he thinks the governor wants ‘to protect an old guard and old mindset’ by maintaining the status quo. And Dana, the tribal representative, said Thursday that some of the governor’s comments about the legislation were ‘dangerous and misleading.’

Supporters contend the the proposal specifically carved out certain federal laws including the Clean Water Act, Indian Mineral Development Act, Water Quality Act and Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. But the governor contends the bill’s language failed to achieve the goal.

The day started on a positive note with regards to tribal relations. The governor announced she signed a bill to ensure the later settlement with the Mi’kmaq better aligns with rights and benefits of the other tribes. The governor said it proves what can be accomplished with ‘dialogue and collaboration.’ She also signed two other tribal-related bills.

In March, tribal leaders in Maine used their first address to the state Legislature in two decades to call for greater autonomy after a broader sovereignty proposal stalled last year under a veto threat.

A bill to provide full sovereignty to the tribes this session is being held over, meaning it’ll be dealt with by lawmakers next year.

Tribal leaders were optimistic about the future.

‘We were never going to take a step backwards when it comes to our sovereignty. We’re always going to be taking a step forward,’ Dana after the vote.

Francis of the Penobscot Nation added: ‘Though today was a loss on the floor of the House, we’re confident moving forward we will only gain greater support.’

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Top Republicans on Capitol Hill are demanding that the Office of Special Counsel investigate claims IRS whistleblowers were removed from the probe into Hunter Biden. 

In June, the House Ways and Means Committee released transcripts of two IRS whistleblowers who alleged that the Justice Department and IRS investigation into the president’s son’s business dealings were ‘influenced by politics.’ Those whistleblowers claimed they were removed from the investigation into Hunter Biden after they made those allegations.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Henry J. Kerner in the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and others asked the Office of Special Counsel to ‘immediately investigate all allegations of retaliation against these IRS whistleblowers.’

They also asked the office to ‘immediately seek the appropriate disciplinary actions against all who engaged in unlawful conduct against these whistleblowers.’

Others signing the letter included Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.; Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.; and Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

OSC handles disclosures of wrongdoing within the executive branch of the federal government from current federal employees, former federal employees and applicants for federal employment.

‘The DOJ and IRS must be held accountable for all instances of whistleblower retaliation and misconduct, and federal agencies cannot conceal their wrongdoing behind illegal nondisclosure directives and related documents,’ they wrote.

The lawmakers noted that an internal IRS email was sent to supervisors, including one of the whistleblowers, from IRS Acting Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) Kareem Carter, saying ‘no information involving the investigation can leave the field office without first going through the chain of command directive by seeking approval from a supervisor.’

That email, the lawmakers say, lacked a lawfully required ‘anti-gag provision’ that should have included whistleblower protections to report wrongdoing.

‘The anti-gag provision prohibits the use of appropriated funds and the enforcement of a nondisclosure agreement or other restrictive policy, form, or agreement that does not specifically allow for lawful, protected disclosures and that each policy, form, or agreement must use specific language apprising the employee of their rights to make such disclosures,’ the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers said they have also been made aware of an IRS email sent by Deputy IRS Commissioner for Services and Enforcement Doug O’Donnell to IRS employees regarding the lawful reporting of allegations of wrongdoing and protected whistleblower disclosures.

‘In this email, the Deputy Commissioner states that he is writing because of concerns related to the reporting of allegations of wrongdoing and the lawful reporting of misconduct,’ the letter states.

‘While the email states the ‘IRS is deeply committed to protecting the role of whistleblowers,’ it fails to inform IRS employees of their Constitutional and statutory right to make protected disclosures to Congress,’ the Republicans said.

‘The importance of protecting whistleblowers from unlawful retaliation and informing whistleblowers about their rights under the law cannot be understated. After all, it is the law,’ they wrote.

The lawmakers asked for a briefing and advisement of next steps by the OSC no later than July 19.

Former Vice President and current presidential candidate Mike Pence on Wednesday defended his actions during the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election when pressed by a supporter of former President Donald Trump over whether he had the constitutional authority to reject a state’s electoral votes.

In a video first shared by liberal network MSNBC, a woman in attendance at a Pence campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa blamed the presidency of Joe Biden on Pence’s refusal to abide by Trump’s wishes and reject the certification of some electoral votes during the joint session of Congress held on January 6, 2021.

‘If it wasn’t for your vote, we would not have Joe Biden in the White House. Joe Biden shouldn’t be there, and all those wonderful things that you and Trump were doing together would be continuing, and this country would be on the right path,’ the woman said. 

‘Do you ever second guess yourself? That was a constitutional right that you had to send those votes back to the states,’ she added.

Pence responded firmly, saying the issue was one that continued ‘to be misunderstood,’ and argued the Constitution didn’t afford him, or any previous vice president, the authority to reject votes and return them to the states.

‘I’m sorry ma’am, but that’s actually what the Constitution says. No vice president in American history ever asserted the authority that you have been convinced that I had. But I want to tell you, with all due respect, I said before – I said when I announced, President Trump was wrong about my authority that day, and he’s still wrong,’ Pence said.

Trump’s legal team filed a number of challenges to the 2020 election results, but all were rejected. Congress ultimately certified the results in the early hours of Jan. 7 after supporters of the former president stormed the U.S. Capitol building, disrupted the proceedings and forced Pence to be evacuated.

The rift between Pence and Trump caused by the former’s rejection of the arguments he could stop the certification has resurfaced on the 2024 campaign trail as both seek the Republican presidential nomination. Prior to his campaign launch, Pence spoke out about the historical day, calling Trump ‘wrong,’ and declaring ‘history will hold’ him ‘accountable.’

According to a recent Fox News poll, Trump maintains a solid lead with 56%, well ahead of Pence’s 4%.

New Hampshire followed dozens of other states Thursday in prohibiting state contracts or investments involving companies that boycott Israel and its trade partners.

The executive order signed by Gov. Chris Sununu makes New Hampshire the 37th state to enact such regulations, according to the Israeli-American Coalition for Action. Shawn Evenhaim, the coalition’s chairman, praised Sununu for ‘standing up against national origin discrimination and defending the deep cultural and commercial ties between Israel and New Hampshire.’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, however, condemned the order as ‘a total assault on our First Amendment rights.’ CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has successfully challenged similar regulations in other states.

‘The government cannot tell Americans how to spend their money or who to financially support,’ the group’s senior litigation attorney Gadeir Abbas said in a statement. ‘Boycotts have been a part of American political life since the founding of our nation, and no state order attempting to ban or limit our right to boycott can be legitimate.’

Sununu was joined at the signing by Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Gilad Erdan.

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Arkansas State Treasurer Mark Lowery has been hospitalized after suffering another stroke, his office said.

In a statement Wednesday, Lowery’s spokeswoman, Heather McKim, said Treasury Chief of Staff Stephen Bright was notified June 30 that Lowery had been admitted into the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Hospital and was currently in stable condition. Further details were not released.

‘The treasurer’s staff is in contact with his family and will provide additional updates as we receive more information,’ the statement said. ‘Please keep him and his family in your prayers.’

Lowery had an ischemic stroke in March.

Lowery, a Republican, was elected state treasurer in November and took office in January. The Arkansas treasurer oversees the state’s investments. Before being elected treasurer, Lowery had served 10 years in the state House.

The treasurer’s office said its daily operations are under the direction of Bright and Chief Deputy Treasurer Eric Munson pending Lowery’s recovery.

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Health officials in Wisconsin have dropped a fine against a dance studio that staged a performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ in December 2020 despite COVID-19 restrictions on mass gatherings.

Public Health Madison and Dane County canceled the penalty pending against A Leap Above Dance on June 22, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Thursday. The studio is located in Oregon, a Madison suburb.

The health department has alleged that 119 people attended the performance even though the department had banned mass gatherings to slow COVID-19’s spread.

It’s unclear how much the fine totaled. With each of the 119 counts in the department’s complaint punishable by $200, it could have come to $23,800. But Morgan Finke, a spokesperson for the health department, told the State Journal on Wednesday that the maximum would have been $3,200.

Studio owner Natalie Nemeckay said fewer than 100 people were involved in the performance and they were divided into groups of 10 at the most. Photos show performers also wore masks.

The studio joined a lawsuit in February 2021 in which two parents alleged the health department’s order limiting mass gatherings inhibited their children’s ability to participate in indoor sports. The department’s gathering restrictions ended a few months later in June 2021.

The state Supreme Court upheld the health department’s ability to limit gatherings in July 2022 and sent the case back to Dane County Circuit Court. Finke said the court didn’t receive the case until last month after the department’s restrictions had expired and the national COVID-19 emergency had ended. She said it wasn’t in the public interest to continue pursuing the fine.

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