A House oversight committee probe into the alleged coverup of the mental decline of former President Joe Biden during his term continues this week with two more former White House aides scheduled to testify.
The Republican-led committee has slated interviews with Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti and former senior adviser Mike Donilon for Wednesday and Thursday. Both have signaled that they will — unlike some past witnesses — voluntarily appear, according to reporting by CNN.
However, it’s not clear yet whether they will break with previous witnesses who have either refused to answer questions or contended that Joe Biden was mentally capable of serving as president of the United States.
Previous high-profile witnesses such as White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor had to be subpoenaed to sit for the panel, and once they appeared they refused to answer questions, asserting their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
As Breitbart News has reported, Anthony Bernal, former senior adviser to first lady Jill Biden, and Annie Tomasini, former special assistant to president Biden, both declined to answer lawmakers’ questions under oath by invoking the Fifth Amendment.
Others have reportedly vouched for Biden’s cognitive abilities in closed door testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Rep. James Comer’s (R-KY).
These included former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain, who reportedly told the lawmakers he thought Biden possessed the mental sharpness to serve as president.
Others who have answered questions and vouched for Biden’s mental fitness include Ashley Williams, former special assistant to the president. However, according to an unnamed source cited by CNN, Williams’ own memory was an issue during her testimony.
According to the CNN report:
The source said Williams stated she “did not recall” many times during her five-hour interview to several questions, including whether teleprompters were used for Cabinet meetings, if there were discussions about Biden using a wheelchair, if there were discussions about Biden undergoing a cognitive test, if she discussed Biden declining physically or mentally, if she ever had to wake Biden up, and how she got involved in his 2020 campaign.
The probe by the committee is scheduled to continue into next month with more aides in the Biden White House inner circle scheduled to testify, including former senior adviser to the president for communications Anita Dunn next Thursday.
The committee is trying to determine who was in charge of the presidency in the latter part of Biden’s term, especially involving the rampant use of autopen to conduct official business, notably granting scores of pardons during his last day in office.
“The American people deserve full transparency, and the House Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation to provide answers and accountability,” Chairman Comer said at the beginning of the probe. “The cover-up of President Biden’s mental decline is one of the greatest scandals in our nation’s history.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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