Pence canceled trip to avoid contact with an alleged drug dealer

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence abruptly canceled a trip to New Hampshire this month to avoid shaking hands with an alleged interstate drug dealer, Politico reported Monday.

White House officials have declined to explain why Pence aborted the July 2 trip, saying only that the reason would eventually become known. 

“Facts came to our attention that made it no longer appropriate for us to make the trip,” Pence told Fox News during a July 12 interview. “And I can’t discuss it.”

Politico reported Monday that Pence would have come into contact with Jeff Hatch, a former New York Giants player and the chief business development officer for the opioid addiction treatment center that Pence was scheduled to visit. The event was to include a discussion with former patients and alumni at the Granite Recovery Center headquarters. 

Hatch, on Friday, agreed to plead guilty to moving more than $100,000 of fentanyl from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, according to the report. 

Pence's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

President Trump told reporters, days after the canceled trip, that the reason would become known "in about a week or two." 

"There was a very interesting problem that they had in New Hampshire," Trump said. "I can’t tell you about it. But it had nothing to do with the White House. There was a problem up there."