IN PHILADELPHIA. AND JIM CAVANAUGH, THANKS TO YOU AS ALWAYS. >>> AND TURNING TO SOME BREAKING NEWS. WE HAD JUST LEARNED THAT A FORMAL LAB HAS CONFIRMED THE SUSPICION THAT THAT WHITE POWDERY SUBSTANCE FOUND IN THE WEST WING ON SUNDAY WAS IN FACT POSITIVE FOR COCAINE. THE DISCOVERY LED IT A BRIEF EVACUATION OF THE WHITE HOUSE SUNDAY NIGHT. JOINING US NOW IS NBC WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT MIKE MEMOLI. MIKE, WHERE DO THINGS STAND NOW? THIS IS SO UNUSUAL. YOU AND I HAVE COVERED THE WHITE HOUSE FOR YEARS. I CAN'T EVEN FATHOM ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAVING BEEN FOUND BEFORE IN THE WEST WING AND I GO BACK TO THE '70s AT THE WHITE HOUSE. THIS IS PRETTY WILD. >> Reporter: ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY, ANDREA. THIS NEW CONCLUSIVE TEST CONFIRMS WHAT HAD BEEN THE PRELIMINARY FIELD TEST CONDUCTED BY D.C. FIRE PERSONNEL WHO WERE CALLED IN ON SUNDAY NIGHT AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF THIS SUSPICIOUS SUBSTANCE BY A UNIFORMED OFFICER IN THE SECRET SERVICE THAT WAS CONDUCTING A ROUTINE PATROL OF THE WHITE HOUSE. SO, TO RECAP ON THE DEVELOPMENTS FROM -- THAT WE HAVE BEEN REPORTING FROM YESTERDAY, THIS WAS FOUND, WE UNDERSTAND, IN A HIGHLY TRAFFICKED COMMON AREA OF THE WEST WING, IT IS AN AREA WHERE INDIVIDUALS, ESPECIALLY VISITORS, INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY BE COMING FOR, FOR INSTANCE, A PRIVATE TOUR, MIGHT HAVE BEEN ASKED TO LEAVE SOME OF THEIR PERSONAL BELONGINGS BEFORE HEADING INTO MORE SENSITIVE AREAS OF THE WEST WING, WHICH, OF COURSE, INCLUDES THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE, THE VICE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE, SOME OF THE MOST SENIOR OFFICIALS, THE PRESS TEAM AND A NUMBER OF DEPUTIES. SO, THIS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY HERE. WHAT WE ALSO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE SECRET SERVICE IS LEADING THIS INVESTIGATION INTO HOW THIS SUBSTANCE CAME INTO THE WEST WING IN THE FIRST PLACE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL INCLUDE THE REVIEW OF SECURITY FOOTAGE, AS WELL AS VISITOR LOGS. THE BIG QUESTION IS FOR HOW LONG HAD THIS ITEM, WHICH WAS DESCRIBED AS A SMALL DIME-SIZED BAG, BEEN IN THIS LOCATION? GIVEN THE REGULARITY, THE RIGOROUSNESS OF THESE REVIEWS, IT COULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING THAT WAS FOUND RATHER QUICKLY, WHICH WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY NARROW THE UNIVERSE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BRING THIS IN. THIS HAPPENED ON SUNDAY NIGHT. THIS WAS A WEEKEND IN WHICH THE PRESIDENT, THE FIRST LADY AND HIS SON HUNTER AND HIS FAMILY WERE AT CAMP DAVID, NOT IN THE WHITE HOUSE. SO THE NUMBER OF STAFF IN THE BUILDING WOULD HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. BUT IT WAS A HOLIDAY WEEKEND WHEN MANY STAFF MAY HAVE HAD FRIENDS AND FAMILY COMING TO VISIT AND MAY HAVE WANTED TO GIVE THEM TOURS. THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW LONG THIS ITEM HAD BEEN THERE AND THAT WILL HELP TO DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF INVESTIGATION INTO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO BROUGHT IT INTO THE WEST WING AND HOW QUICKLY THAT MIGHT BE RESOLVED. >> MIKE, FIRST, TWO QUESTIONS, EVERYBODY WHO GOES THROUGH MAGNETOMETERS, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PICKED UP BY THE MAGNETOMETERS, NUMBER ONE. I DON'T KNOW IF SOMEBODY'S POCKET OR BAG. AND SECONDLY, IF YOU CAN SAY THIS, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO, WAS THIS IN THE RECEPTION AREA, IMMEDIATELY WHERE THERE IS A RECEPTIONIST AND PEOPLE SIT AND WAIT FOR THEIR APPOINTMENTS INSIDE THE WEST WING PROPER? >> Reporter: THE WAY IT IS DESCRIBED TO US, THAT IS LIKELY WHERE THIS HAPPENED. A COMMON SPACE, HIGHLY TRAFFICKED INDIVIDUAL SPACE WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMING AND GOING AND YOU ARE ASKED AT TIMES TO LEAVE THINGS LIKE A CELL PHONE DEVICE, OTHER ITEMS IN YOUR POCKETS BEHIND BEFORE YOU TRAVEL INTO WHATEVER IS THE OFFICIAL BUSINESS OR THE TOURIST BUSINESS THAT IS BRINGING YOU INTO THIS LOCATION. DEPENDING WHICH ENTRANCE THESE INDIVIDUALS CAME INTO, YES THERE ARE CERTAINLY MAGMAGNETOMETERS, WHICH ARE LOOKING FOR METALLIC OBJECTS, THINGS THAT MIGHT TRIGGER AS A WEAPON THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY PICK
