Biden Aides Invoke Fifth Amendment in Probe of President’s Mental Decline. What Happens Now?

President Joe Biden’s former White House chief of staff and former press secretary are among the final four witnesses set to take questions from House of Representatives investigators about the 46th president’s awareness while in office. 

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will resume transcribed interviews this week as part of the probe of Biden’s apparent mental decline in the White House as well as whether Biden was aware of major presidential actions taken on his behalf—such as clemency—using the White House autopen. 

“Americans witnessed President Biden’s decline, yet Biden loyalists tried to cover it up,” House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told The Daily Signal.

While 10 former Biden officials voluntarily took questions from the committee, three others had to be subpoenaed and invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Most notable of those was Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the Biden White House physician. 

Anthony Bernal, former senior adviser to first lady Jill Biden, also pleaded the Fifth, as did Annie Tomasini, former deputy director of Oval Office Operations. 

“President Biden’s doctor and aides identified as his ‘protective bubble’ invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination,” Comer added. 

Former officials who voluntarily sat for depositions professed loyalty and offered a positive spin, but nevertheless revealed intriguing nuggets of the president’s decline.

“Additionally, our investigation is unearthing crucial evidence that President Biden’s inner circle made calculated decisions to address the political fallout of his decline,” the chairman said. “This is a historic scandal, and we will continue to pursue the truth for the American people.”

The Daily Signal reached out to the office of Joe and Jill Biden to comment on this story. The office did not respond as of publication time. 

Here’s what’s been revealed, and what’s next in the Biden investigation: 

KJP and Chief of Staff Up to Bat

As White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed concerns about her boss’ health: “Oh, my gosh, he’s the president of the United States, you know. I can’t even keep up with him.” 

She will likely have to answer for those words as she goes before the House Oversight Committee for a transcribed interview on Sept. 12. 

Then, on Sept. 18, Biden’s second White House chief of staff, Jeff Zients, will sit for a transcribed interview with the committee. Zients oversaw the White House beginning in 2023 and was there the following year when Democrats pressured Biden out of the presidential race in July 2024.

On Aug. 21, Ian Sams, the former senior adviser to the White House Counsel’s Office, will go before the committee. Sams was the key White House spokesperson in answering media questions about allegations of the Biden family’s suspicious financial dealings.

On Sept. 5, Andrew Bates, former senior deputy press secretary, will go before the Oversight panel. 

What the ‘Politburo’ Says

Biden’s “politburo,” according to the book “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” by reporters Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper, was an inner circle that sought to hide Biden’s cognitive decline. It consisted of first lady Jill Biden, son Hunter Biden, as well as White House aides Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, and Bruce Reed, according to the book.

Early on in the investigation, Biden’s first White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, who was previously his chief of staff as vice president, was in the mix. On July 24, Klain told the committee that Biden was “less energetic and more forgetful” as his presidency continued. 

Klain told the panel that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan, approached him and stated they believed Biden was not politically viable for 2024.  

Ricchetti, the counselor to the president in the Biden White House and manager of Biden’s 2020 campaign, took a combative tone, arguing Biden is capable of being president today and insisting he could have won the 2024 election. Ricchetti also told the committee that film director Steven Spielberg helped Biden prepare for the June 2024 debate.

On July 31, Mike Donilon, who was senior adviser in the Biden White House, complained to House investigators that Democrats in Congress and political pundits overreacted in pushing his boss out of the 2024 presidential race. Though, Donilon conceded that Biden could stumble over more words than in earlier years. 

Although White House physician O’Connor refused to take questions, Bruce Reed, former deputy chief of staff for policy in the Biden White House, told the committee that the doctor dismissed the need for a cognitive test as “meaningless.” 

In his Aug. 5 deposition, Reed also revealed that the decision to hold a debate with Donald Trump as early as June was a deliberate strategy. But he said it had nothing to do with age; rather, he claimed it was to get ahead of early voting as well as the media surrounding the Olympics. 

‘Important Decisions’

On June 24, Neera Tanden, Biden’s former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, said she allowed the use of the autopen to automatically sign documents. 

Tanden insisted this was not usurping the president’s signature or authority. She said she was given the authority and “was responsible for handling the flow of documents to and from the president.” Tanden also said there was no manipulation of Biden’s will.

On July 11, Ashley Williams, former deputy director of Oval Office Operations under Biden, reportedly said she “did not recall” in response to several questions that included whether Biden used teleprompters during Cabinet meetings or whether she noticed his decline. 

On Aug 7, Anita Dunn, a former senior adviser to the president for communications, seemed to provide wiggle room for the former White House when she said Biden “made all of the important decisions.” Dunn said Biden’s “authority and involvement in decision-making was clear.”

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