House Republicans are intensifying efforts to uncover who actually ran the country during Joe Biden’s presidency as they expand investigations into an alleged cover-up of his severe cognitive decline.
Key Takeaways
- House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has broadened his investigation into Biden’s cognitive decline, requesting interviews with 10 former White House officials including Ron Klain and Anita Dunn.
- The committee is investigating whether senior White House officials usurped presidential authority and deliberately concealed Biden’s deteriorating mental and physical condition from the American public.
- Investigators are particularly interested in officials who had autopen privileges and may have signed documents without Biden’s knowledge or understanding.
- The committee has opted for closed-door transcribed interviews rather than public hearings, believing this approach will yield more detailed information.
- While former officials are currently setting interview dates, subpoenas remain an option if voluntary compliance isn’t forthcoming.
Expanding the Investigation into Biden’s “Shadow Administration”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has significantly expanded his investigation into what many conservatives have long suspected – that Biden’s White House was operated by unelected staffers as the president’s cognitive abilities severely declined. Comer has now sent letters to five additional former White House aides, bringing the total to ten individuals being called to provide testimony about who was actually making decisions during Biden’s tenure. The latest officials contacted include former Chief of Staff Ron Klain, senior advisor Anita Dunn, speechwriter Michael Donilon, counselor Steve Ricchetti, and former Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed.
The committee’s investigation, which has been ongoing for nearly a year, centers on whether key White House officials deliberately concealed Biden’s mental deterioration while potentially making presidential decisions without proper authorization. In the letters sent to former officials, Comer explicitly stated the committee’s focus. “The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the role of former senior White House officials in possibly usurping authority from former President Joe Biden and the ramifications of a White House staff intent on hiding his rapidly worsening mental and physical faculties,” said James Comer, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee.
Closed-Door Testimony and the Strategy Behind It
Rather than holding public hearings that often devolve into political theater, Comer is requesting closed-door transcribed interviews with each of the officials. This approach, he believes, will yield more substantive information. “You’ve got one hour, you’re not interrupted, you don’t have to go five minutes back and forth. So to extract information, we’re going to go with the interviews,” explained James Comer, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee. The committee has already requested interviews with former Biden doctor Kevin O’Connor and former White House aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, Ashley Williams, and Neera Tanden.
“According to an interview, you cut short the debate prep ‘due to the president’s fatigue and lack of familiarity with the subject matter’ and said that the former president ‘didn’t really understand what his argument was on inflation,'” stated James Comer in his letter to one of the former Biden officials.
While the committee is currently expecting voluntary cooperation from these former officials, who are in the process of setting dates for their interviews, Comer has not ruled out issuing subpoenas if necessary. This escalation reflects the seriousness with which House Republicans view the allegations that Biden was essentially a figurehead while unelected staffers secretly ran the country – a concern that President Trump and many conservatives repeatedly voiced during Biden’s presidency.
The Autopen Controversy and Decision-Making Authority
One particularly troubling aspect of the investigation centers on the use of an autopen – a device that mechanically reproduces a person’s signature. The committee is examining allegations that important documents may have been auto-signed without Biden’s knowledge or understanding. While Jeff Zients and Stef Feldman reportedly had autopen privileges, Comer has not yet requested interviews with them, raising questions about the scope and future direction of the investigation. Critics have long suggested that Biden’s mental decline was so severe that he may not have been aware of or truly understood many of the policies enacted in his name.
The investigation also raises serious constitutional questions about the 25th Amendment and whether it provides adequate safeguards against situations where a president may be mentally incapacitated but remains in office with staff essentially running the government. Some conservative critics have suggested that if the investigation confirms what many already suspect – that Biden was mentally unfit for much of his presidency – it could lead to calls for legislative reforms to prevent similar situations in the future and ensure that elected officials, not unelected staffers, are making critical decisions that affect the American people.
