WH issues odd response to layup question on whether cocaine could belong to Bidens: 'I don’t have a response to that'

 The White House directly addressed accusations on Thursday that cocaine discovered at the White House belonged to the first family.

While en route to South Carolina, a reporter asked deputy press secretary Andrew Bates about former President Donald Trump's claim that the illicit drug belonged to President Joe Biden or first son Hunter Biden. 

"Are you willing to say that that’s not the case, that they don’t belong to them?" the reporter asked.

A layup question, right? Wrong. For some odd reason, Bates did not outright deny the accusation but instead declined to answer the question — and publicly clear the Bidens — by citing the Hatch Act.

"I don’t have a response to that because we have to be careful about the Hatch Act," Bates said.

The Hatch Act restricts civil-service employees from engaging in partisan conduct. It's not clear how denying that the cocaine belonged to President Biden or Hunter Biden would have constituted a violation of the law. After all, Bates' very job is to serve as a spokesman for the president and White House. 

What is even more confusing is that after citing the Hatch Act, Bates launched into a partisan diatribe slamming Trump — under guise of attacking the "last administration." 

Later in the gaggle, Bates declined to promise the White House would be transparent about the cocaine investigation because he does not want "to engage on hypotheticals about it."

Anything else?

Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany, who worked in the Trump administration, explained Thursday why the cocaine cannot belong to the Bidens.

The answer? It's simple: they weren't there.

"For it to be Hunter Biden— he left on Friday, he was at Camp David. There is no way. It is inconceivable to think cocaine could sit for a 72-hour period," she explained. "So I would rule him out at this point."

Indeed, the Bidens departed for Camp David on Friday and returned to the White House on Tuesday. The cocaine, on the other hand, was discovered on Sunday.

Meanwhile, NBC News reported Thursday the cocaine was discovered in a different location than previously claimed. It was, according to the report, found in the White House's West Executive entrance, not the West Wing lobby.

More from NBC News:

The cocaine was found in an entrance area between the foyer and a lower-level lobby, the sources said. The entrance is near where some vehicles, like the vice president’s limo or SUV park. It is one floor below the main West Wing offices and the same floor as the Situation Room and a dining area.

The Secret Service is conducting forensic tests to help determine who is responsible for the cocaine. NBC reported that the investigation could conclude as early as next week.

But despite the White House being one of the most secured buildings in the world — no one enters or leaves without the Secret Service knowing about it — law enforcement sources told Politico the identity of the person responsible for the cocaine may never be found.