Secret Service ends investigation into cocaine found in White House without identifying a suspect

The Secret Service on Thursday said it had closed its investigation into how cocaine ended up at the White House without identifying a suspect.

The agency statement came after congressional Republicans said they were told in a classified Secret Service briefing that the investigation into the cocaine found in the White House West Wing earlier this month was concluding without a determination of who was responsible.

"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," the agency said in a lengthy statement. "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."

The Secret Service said the packaging was "subjected to advanced fingerprint and DNA analysis," by the FBI crime lab.

"The investigation included a methodical review of security systems and protocols," the agency statement said. "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 focal point of these actions developed a pool of known persons for comparison of forensic evidence gleaned from the FBI's analysis of the substance's packaging.