Latest news with #NeeraTanden
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Quote of the Day: ‘Done Waiting My Turn': Younger Democrats Rise Up
'We got the message that change is what people are looking for. A little late, but we got it.' NEERA TANDEN, a former adviser to former President Biden who now runs the Center for American Progress, on signs that Democratic voters were looking for younger candidates.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Four former Biden aides to testify in GOP mental acuity probe
WASHINGTON – Four ex-aides to Joe Biden will testify in private over the next month before the House Oversight Committee as part of Republicans' investigation into the former president's mental acuity. Neera Tanden, the former director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council, is scheduled to answer questions on June 24. Anthony Bernal, former senior advisor to First Lady Jill Biden, has a June 26 session with the panel. The others are former special assistant to the president Ashley Williams on July 11, and Annie Tomasini, former deputy chief of staff, on July 18. The four former administration officials agreed to voluntary transcribed interviews with the panel behind closed doors, during which Republicans and Democrats will each have an hour to ask questions. "This is a very serious issue. President Trump tweeted out [June 4] that it's the biggest scandal in the history of America," Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, the chairman of the House panel, told USA TODAY. "So we're going to get answers." Comer said his committee plans to issue a report on its findings along with the transcripts of the interviews once they are completed. Trump has repeatedly criticized Biden for using an autopen amid fresh allegations that the ex-president's health was in decline while he was in office. He has accused former White House aides, without evidence, of signing documents, including presidential pardons, without Biden's knowledge. Presidents have long used versions of an autopen, dating back to the era of Thomas Jefferson. They have not been outlawed or ruled unconstitutional. Trump himself has also acknowledged allowing his staff to use an autopen to sign letters on his behalf. The Biden staffers' interviews are part of a GOP-led investigation in the House Oversight Committee to explore the allegations, which the 82-year old former president has said are "ridiculous and false." "This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations," Biden said in a statement June 4. Comer has also subpoenaed Biden's doctor, Kevin O'Connor. O'Connor refused to voluntarily sit for a transcribed interview, according to House Oversight Republicans. Joseph Garrison and Bart Jansen contributed. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Four former Biden aides agree to testify in GOP investigation
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Former top aide to Jill Biden is subpoenaed by House Oversight panel
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena Thursday to Anthony Bernal, a senior aide to former first lady Jill Biden, as part of their rapidly expanding investigation into former President Joe Biden's mental fitness while in office. The subpoena signed by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the Republican Oversight chairman, requires Bernal to appear for a deposition on July 16. It came after several weeks of back-and-forth with Bernal's lawyer over the timing of a voluntary interview. 'Given your close connection with both former President Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden, the Committee sought to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden's fitness to serve from the American people,' the subpoena reads. 'To avoid any further delays, your appearance before the Committee is now compelled.' Bernal is the second former Biden staffer to be subpoenaed by the committee and unlikely to be the last. The committee this week heard voluntary testimony from Neera Tanden, a former director of Biden's domestic policy counsel, and is intent on securing interviews with several other members of Biden's inner circle as part of its investigation. Bernal did not respond Thursday to a message seeking comment. Comer has also subpoenaed Kevin O'Connor, who served as Biden's physician at the White House. O'Connor will testify before the committee on July 9. It's all part of a remarkable Republican effort, supported by President Donald Trump, to investigate the last occupant of the Oval Office six months after he left office. Trump himself has ordered White House lawyers and the Justice Department to investigate Biden, questioning the legitimacy of his use of the autopen to sign pardons and other documents. Boosting the GOP investigation, Trump has waived executive privilege for eight former Biden administration officials to testify to Congress, including Bernal, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and insisted on anonymity. With the privilege lifted, former staffers are free to discuss their interactions with Biden while he was president. In addition to Bernal, executive privilege has been waived for Biden White House senior advisers Mike Donilon and Anita Dunn, former White House chief of staff Ron Klain, former deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed, former counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, former deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and a former assistant to the president, Ashley Williams. Comer is seeking interviews with all of them. Democrats have dismissed the inquiry into Biden's mental state as a partisan exercise that distracts from other pressing issues. Rep. Wesley Bell, a Missouri Democrat who sits on the Oversight committee, said after the interview with Tanden that it 'was an extraordinary waste of time' and produced 'no new evidence.' Bell said lawmakers should focus on issues like the costs of food, housing and potential changes to healthcare policy rather than 'dig up some kind of post-impeachment, or whatever we're doing here.' The unfolding investigation has significant implications for politics and policy. Republican lawmakers have argued that any executive actions or policies enacted through the autopen procedure could be found invalid if Biden were somehow incapacitated or not of a sound state of mind while in office. Trump and his allies have claimed, without evidence, that Biden was not aware of the actions his administration had taken on a range of issues, including presidential pardons, environmental policy and labor rights, among other issues. A move to reverse such executive actions, which would almost certainly face legal scrutiny and a battle in the courts, could impact scores of executive orders taken throughout Biden's term. 'Let this subpoena send a clear message to Biden's inner circle: We will stop at nothing to expose the truth about Joe Biden's decline (and) unauthorized use of the autopen,' Comer wrote on social media. Trump this month directed his administration to investigate Biden's actions as president, arguing that aides engaged in a 'conspiracy' to mask Biden's mental state. Senate Republicans have also launched their own inquiries. 'We need to know who was in charge during the last months of the Biden administration. Was it his wife, his chief of staff, nameless others? None of these people were elected by the American people, nor were they authorized by the Constitution and laws of the United States to carry out the duties of the president of the United States,' Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said during a June hearing. — Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Top Biden aide admits to Congress she directed autopen signatures without knowing who gave final approval
A former top aide to President Joe Biden said she was authorized to direct autopen signatures but was unaware of who in the president's inner circle was giving her final clearance, according to a source familiar with the aide's closed-door testimony in front of Congress Tuesday. Neera Tanden, the former director of Biden's Domestic Policy Council, testified for hours Tuesday during an interview in front of the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the former president's mental acuity and his use of an automatic signature tool that allowed aides to sign pardons, memos and other important documents on Biden's behalf. During Tanden's interview before Congress, which lasted more than five hours, she told lawmakers that, in her role as staff secretary and senior advisor to the former president between 2021 and 2023, she was authorized to direct autopen signatures on behalf of Biden, an Oversight Committee official told Fox News. The system of approval used, according to Tanden's testimony relayed to Fox News, was inherited from previous administrations. Who Is Neera Tanden? The Controversial Dem Operative Who Testified On Biden's Mental Acuity But Tanden, who said she had limited interactions with Biden, described an approval process that left her in the dark about who specifically was giving final approval on the decisions to use the automatic signature tool, sources told Fox News. Tanden testified that to get approval for the use of autopen signatures she would send decision memos to members of Biden's inner circle. However, she added that she was not aware of what actions or approvals took place between the time she sent the decision memo and the time she received it back with the necessary approval. Read On The Fox News App When Tanden was asked whether she ever discussed Biden's health or his fitness to serve as president during her time as a top aide, including during the period of the former president's widely criticized debate performance last summer, Tanden said she did not. Lawmakers laid out a list of names of officials she could have potentially discussed it with, and Tanden said "no" to each name, according to a source familiar with her closed-door testimony. Biden Insists 'I Made The Decisions' As Republicans Investigate White House Autopen Use Tanden did not speak to reporters on the way to the Capitol Tuesday morning. Upon exiting, she expressed her willingness to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. "I just spoke with the House Oversight Committee, Majority and Minority Council. I answered every question, was pleased to discuss my public service and it was a thorough process. And I'm glad I answered everyone's question," Tanden told reporters. When subsequently asked whether there was any effort to hide Biden's condition, Tanden replied, "Absolutely not." In addition to Tanden, Biden's former White House physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, will appear for a deposition in front of House Oversight lawmakers after being subpoenaed by Republicans. In addition to O'Connor and Tanden, the Oversight Committee plans to hear from Anthony Bernal, who served as a senior advisor to former first lady Jill Biden; Annie Tomasini, who was Biden's former deputy chief of staff; and Ashley Williams, who was the former deputy director of Oval Office operations under Biden. Oversight Republicans are also seeking interviews with officials who were some of Biden's closest confidants, including former chief of staff Ron Klain and Anita Dunn, a former senior advisor to the president for article source: Top Biden aide admits to Congress she directed autopen signatures without knowing who gave final approval
Fox News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Top Biden aide admits to Congress she directed autopen signatures without knowing who gave final approval
A former top aide to President Joe Biden said she was authorized to direct autopen signatures but was unaware of who in the president's inner circle was giving her final clearance, according to a source familiar with the aide's closed-door testimony in front of Congress Tuesday. Neera Tanden, the former director of Biden's Domestic Policy Council, testified for hours Tuesday during an interview in front of the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the former president's mental acuity and his use of an automatic signature tool that allowed aides to sign pardons, memos and other important documents on Biden's behalf. During Tanden's interview before Congress, which lasted more than five hours, she told lawmakers that, in her role as staff secretary and senior advisor to the former president between 2021 and 2023, she was authorized to direct autopen signatures on behalf of Biden, an Oversight Committee official told Fox News. The system of approval used, according to Tanden's testimony relayed to Fox News, was inherited from previous administrations. But Tanden, who said she had limited interactions with Biden, described an approval process that left her in the dark about who specifically was giving final approval on the decisions to use the automatic signature tool, sources told Fox News. Tanden testified that to get approval for the use of autopen signatures she would send decision memos to members of Biden's inner circle. However, she added that she was not aware of what actions or approvals took place between the time she sent the decision memo and the time she received it back with the necessary approval. When Tanden was asked whether she ever discussed Biden's health or his fitness to serve as president during her time as a top aide, including during the period of the former president's widely criticized debate performance last summer, Tanden said she did not. Lawmakers laid out a list of names of officials she could have potentially discussed it with, and Tanden said "no" to each name, according to a source familiar with her closed-door testimony. Tanden did not speak to reporters on the way to the Capitol Tuesday morning. Upon exiting, she expressed her willingness to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. "I just spoke with the House Oversight Committee, Majority and Minority Council. I answered every question, was pleased to discuss my public service and it was a thorough process. And I'm glad I answered everyone's question," Tanden told reporters. When subsequently asked whether there was any effort to hide Biden's condition, Tanden replied, "Absolutely not." In addition to Tanden, Biden's former White House physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, will appear for a deposition in front of House Oversight lawmakers after being subpoenaed by Republicans. In addition to O'Connor and Tanden, the Oversight Committee plans to hear from Anthony Bernal, who served as a senior advisor to former first lady Jill Biden; Annie Tomasini, who was Biden's former deputy chief of staff; and Ashley Williams, who was the former deputy director of Oval Office operations under Biden. Oversight Republicans are also seeking interviews with officials who were some of Biden's closest confidants, including former chief of staff Ron Klain and Anita Dunn, a former senior advisor to the president for communications.
