Latest news with #andHisDisastrousChoice
The Hill
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Comer subpoenas Jill Biden ‘work husband' for July testimony
House Republicans investigating former President Biden's mental fitness while in office are flexing their subpoena power to get testimony from Anthony Bernal, who was a top aide to former first lady Jill Biden. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena on Thursday for a deposition from Bernal on July 16 after Bernal, who was reportedly so close to the former first lady that he was referred to as her 'work husband,' declined to take part in an interview that was scheduled Wednesday. President Trump's administration suspended legal protections for Biden officials testifying in the probe the day before Bernal was to take part in a transcribed interview with the committee. 'You have refused the Committee's request. However, to advance the Committee'soversight and legislative responsibilities and interests, your testimony is critical,' Comer wrote in a letter to Bernal on Thursday. Comer had blasted Bernal publicly Wednesday after he skipped their scheduled interview with him. 'Now that the White House has waived executive privilege, it's abundantly clear that Anthony Bernal — Jill Biden's so-called 'work husband '— never intended to be transparent about Joe Biden's cognitive decline and the ensuing cover-up,' Comer said in a statement. 'With no privilege left to hide behind, Mr. Bernal is now running scared, desperate to bury the truth.' 'The American people deserve answers and accountability, and the Oversight Committee will not tolerate this obstruction,' Comer added. 'To avoid any further delays, your appearance before the Committee is now compelled.' Bernal's influence in the Biden administration was detailed in the book 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again' by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson. 'He considered loyalty to be the defining virtue and would wield that word to elevate some and oust others – at times fairly and at times not. 'Are you a Biden person?' he would ask West Wing aides. 'Is so-and-so a Biden person?' The regular interrogations led some colleagues to dub him the leader of the 'loyalty police,'' the reporters wrote. Comer has questioned who had authority to use the presidential autopen to sign off on White House actions while Biden was in office. The 'Original Sin' authors wrote that one source told them that 'five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.' 'The cover-up of President Biden's mental decline is one of the greatest scandals in our nation's history,' Comer said earlier this month in announcing the expansion of his investigation. 'These five former senior advisers were eyewitnesses to President Biden's condition and operations within the Biden White House.' He also has sought testimony from top Biden aides Michael Donilon, Anita Dunn, Ron Klain, Bruce Reed and Steve Ricchetti. The panel privately interviewed Neera Tanden, who was the former president's staff secretary, earlier this week. Comer said Tanden revealed 'she had minimal interaction with President Biden, despite wielding tremendous authority.' 'Her testimony raises serious questions about who was really calling the shots in the Biden White House amid the President's obvious decline,' the oversight chairman said. Comer's committee sought to subpoena Bernal last year after then-President Biden faltered in the presidential debate with Trump and ultimately dropped his reelection bid, but the Biden administration refused to waive executive privilege that shields White House staffers from divulging private conversations with presidents. Axios reported that a person familiar with Bernal's interactions with the House Oversight panel disputed Comer's characterization of Bernal's stance on testifying. 'Calling this a 'refusal' is misleading, when there was simply a request to reschedule the interview,' the person, who Axios did not name, told the outlet. The former president's official office didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.
Newsweek
10-06-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
Four Senior Biden Officials to Testify in Probe on His Health: Report
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Four senior officials in former President Joe Biden's administration are set to testify in a House probe into Biden's health while in office. Newsweek reached out to Jill and Joe Biden's office via online form Tuesday for comment. Why It Matters Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race in late July following a disastrous debate performance against then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Biden repeatedly stared at Trump and made halting statements where he appeared to lose his train of thought. Biden later said he had "a bad, bad night." Questions swirled about his mental acuity and possible decline as the White House and then Vice President Kamala Harris fielded questions about his cognitive ability in the final months of his presidency. Biden also faced harsh feedback as excerpts from CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson's book Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again were published. What To Know According to Politico, citing a House Oversight Committee aid, former deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, former deputy director of Oval Office operations Ashley Williams, former director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden, and Anthony Bernal, former senior adviser to the then first lady, are all set to testify in either June or July. Committee Chair James Comer requested their cooperation with the probe in May and also sent Biden's physician, Kevin O'Connor, a subpoena last week, Politico reports. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Comer said that he requested O'Connor appear for a deposition on June 27, 2025. Trump has pushed White House lawyers to look into whether Biden's aides covered up his alleged health decline, Reuters reports. Biden also revealed last month that he had been diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer that had metastasized to the bone. Former President Joe Biden can be seen posing at the opening night of "Othello" on Broadway at The Barrymore Theatre on March 23, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage) Former President Joe Biden can be seen posing at the opening night of "Othello" on Broadway at The Barrymore Theatre on March 23, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage) What People Are Saying House Oversight Committee on X over the weekend: "Even Obama's doctor admits the truth. This is precisely why Chairman @RepJamesComer subpoenaed Dr. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician. This is a scandal of historical proportions, and we will investigate it thoroughly!" Trump on Truth Social in May after Biden's diagnosis: "Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery." Biden in a statement last week: "Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false," Biden said. "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."
The Hill
05-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump orders probe of Biden mental state, executive actions in office
President Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into actions taken by then-President Biden, citing questions about Biden's cognitive state toward the end of his term. Trump directed the counsel to the president, in consultation with Attorney General Pam Bondi, to probe 'whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President.' The investigation will focus specifically on actions Biden signed using the 'autopen,' which has become a fixation of those on the right as they levy accusations about Biden's ability to carry out his duties. Trump's order cites Biden's appointment of more than 200 judges to the federal bench, the issuance of thousands of acts of clemency and the issuance of more than 1,000 presidential documents during his term. Biden and his aides have repeatedly denied that the former president was unable to carry out his duties while in office. A Biden spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump's latest order. New books, including 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,' have reignited debate about Biden's mental acuity while in office and whether he experienced cognitive decline. Since President Trump took office, the GOP has taken a number of steps focusing on Biden. The White House confirmed Tuesday that pardon attorney Ed Martin would be reviewing Biden's pardons for his family members, as well as some other clemencies granted during his final days in office. House Republicans have reached out to former Biden aides as part of a probe into the former president's mental acuity. And the Justice Department last month released the full tapes of Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur, one in which the attorney said Biden appeared to have memory lapses. While president, Biden released the full transcript of the conversation.
Fox News
02-06-2025
- General
- Fox News
Bill Clinton denies Biden suffered decline, claims he was 'in good shape' before stepping down
Former President Bill Clinton insisted in an interview airing Sunday that former President Joe Biden was "in good shape" and he "never" saw him in cognitive decline in office. While promoting his new book "The First Gentleman," Clinton was asked by "CBS Sunday Morning" anchor Tracy Smith to comment on allegations made in the book "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again" by Axios' Alex Thompson and CNN's Jake Tapper. Throughout "Original Sin," Thompson and Tapper wrote there were ongoing efforts by the Biden administration to cover up signs of mental and physical decline by shielding him from the public and misleading political allies. "Did you ever have a moment with him where you thought maybe he was unfit to run for president?" Smith asked. "No. I thought he was a good president," Clinton said. "The only concern I thought he had to deal with was, could anybody do that job until they were 86? And we'd had several long talks. I had never seen him and walked away thinking he can't do this anymore. He was always on top of his brief." "You never saw any cognitive decline?" Smith asked. "I didn't know anything about any of this. And I haven't read the book. I saw President Biden not very long ago, and I thought he was in good shape. But the book didn't register with me because I never saw him that way," Clinton answered. When pressed about why he didn't read the book, Clinton remarked that Biden wasn't the president anymore and that he already thought he did a "good job." Clinton also claimed the book was being used "as a way to blame him for the fact that [Donald] Trump was reelected." Though Clinton spoke highly of Biden's job as president during the interview, he and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were among some of the earliest Democratic figures to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris for president, just hours after Biden dropped out of the race. Since "Original Sin" was published last month, the Democratic Party and the mainstream media have been getting renewed criticism for allegedly downplaying or covering up Biden's shortcomings until his first debate with President Trump last year. Clinton, 78, is four years Biden's junior. He took office in 1993 as one of the nation's youngest-ever presidents at age 46, while Biden was 78 when his presidency began in 2021.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Biden on ‘Original Sin' authors: ‘I can beat the hell out of both of them'
Former President Biden blasted the authors of a new book detailing his mental decline during the 2024 race for president and his final few months in office. Biden was asked about chatter regarding his health stemming from a new book, 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again' by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson after speaking at an event in Delaware on Friday. 'You can see that I'm mentally incompetent, I can't walk — and I can beat the hell out of both of them,' Biden said with a smirk while speaking with reporters. The former president was asked if he wanted to respond to any of the reporting in the book, which revealed the extent to which top White House aides were kept in the dark about his condition, or to questions among Democrats whether he should have run for reelection. 'Why didn't they run against me then?' Biden replied. 'Because I'd have beaten them.' Biden announced earlier this month he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and Friday's remarks were his first since the announcement. The former president said his doctors are 'optimistic' about his prognosis. Tapper and Thompson's book has given fuel to attacks from President Trump and his allies alleging a 'cover-up' of Biden's condition by Democrats and media outlets. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
