4 Top Biden Aides To Testify On His Alleged Cognitive Decline
Four former senior aides to former President Joe Biden will testify to the House Oversight Committee about Biden's alleged declining health while in office.
A spokesperson for Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chair for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, confirmed to HuffPost that Neera Tanden, former director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Anthony Bernal, former senior adviser to the first lady, will testify later this month. Ashley Williams, former deputy director of Oval Office operations, and Annie Tomasini, former deputy chief of staff, will testify in July.
A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, President Donald Trump ordered his administration to investigate his predecessor, alleging that Biden's aides covered up his 'cognitive decline' and criticizing Biden for using an autopen to sign documents, like pardons. Presidents, including Trump, have used autopens since 2011.
Biden defended himself in a statement last week.
'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,' Biden said. 'I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false.'
Comer sent a letter demanding testimony from five former Biden aides. In May, Comer urged Biden's former doctor, Kevin O'Connor, to testify. O'Connor refused, according to Politico, and then Comer issued a subpoena to him last week.
'The American people deserve full transparency and the House Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation to provide answers and accountability,' Comer said. 'The cover-up of President Biden's mental decline is one of the greatest scandals in our nation's history. These five former senior advisors were eyewitnesses to President Biden's condition and operations within the Biden White House. They must appear before the House Oversight Committee and provide truthful answers about President Biden's cognitive state and who was calling the shots.'
The investigation comes after journalist Jake Tapper released his book 'Original Sin,' which detailed Biden's mental decline. According to the book, Biden would often forget people's names and that top Democrats refused to press Biden on whether he was capable of running for a second term in 2024.
While appearing on 'The View' in May with former first lady Jill Biden, Joe Biden there is 'nothing to sustain' reports that his mental capacity declined while he was president. Jill Biden added that the people who wrote 'those books' weren't in the White House with them.
Comer has also requested testimony from Michael Donilon, former senior adviser to the president, Anita Dunn, former senior adviser to the president, Ronald Klain, former chief of staff, Bruce Reed, former deputy chief of staff and Steve Ricchetti, former counselor to the president.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Clerk who denied same-sex marriage licenses in 2015 is still fighting Supreme Court's ruling
The Kentucky county clerk who became known around the world for her opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage is still arguing in court that it should be overturned. Kim Davis became a cultural lightning rod 10 years ago, bringing national media and conservative religious leaders to eastern Kentucky as she continued for weeks to deny the licenses. She later met Pope Francis in Rome and was parodied on 'Saturday Night Live.' Kim Davis denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples Davis began denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. Videos of a same-sex couple arguing with Davis in the clerk's office over their denial of a license drew national attention to her office. She defied court orders to issue the licenses until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015. Davis was released after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The Kentucky Legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses. Davis cited her Christian faith Davis said her faith forbade her from what she saw as an endorsement of same-sex marriage. Faith leaders and conservative political leaders including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and then-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin rallied to her cause. After her release from jail, Davis addressed the media, saying that issuing same-sex marriage licenses 'would be conflicting with God's definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. This would be an act of disobedience to my God.' Davis declined a request for an interview from The Associated Press for this story. A man who was denied a license ran for her office In 2018, one of the men who had confronted Davis over her defiance ran for her office. David Ermold said he believed people in Rowan County were sick of Davis and wanted to move on. When he went to file his papers for the Democratic primary, Davis, a Republican, was there in her capacity as clerk to sign him up. Sitting across a desk from each other, the cordial meeting contrasted the first time they met three years earlier. Both candidates lost; Ermold in the primary and Davis in the general election. She has not returned to politics. 10 years later, Davis wants the Supreme Court to reconsider same-sex marriage Davis' lawyers are attempting again to get her case before the Supreme Court, after the high court declined to hear an appeal from her in 2020. A federal judge has ordered Davis to pay a total of $360,000 in damages and attorney fees to Ermold and his partner. Davis lost a bid in March to have her appeal of that ruling heard by a federal appeals court, but she will appeal again to the Supreme Court. Her attorney, Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, said the goal is affirm Davis' constitutional rights and 'overturn Obergefell.'
CBS News
14 minutes ago
- CBS News
What's next for Vance Boelter, suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings, as he heads to court
A look at what is next for Vance Boelter, suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings A look at what is next for Vance Boelter, suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings A look at what is next for Vance Boelter, suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings As grieving continues for Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the long recovery continues for Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, law enforcement and prosecutors are moving forward with prosecuting suspect Vance Boelter. It's a case filled with sensational and cruel details, also with heroism by police and the victims who tried to fight back. There is evidence a plenty: abandoned weapons registered in Boelter's name, shocking surveillance images of the masked suspect at the victims' door, a journal with a hit list and even a handwritten note addressed to the FBI signed with Boelter's signature, admitting to the crimes. Court documents say there is also video of the attack on John and Yvette Hoffman, who, along with their daughter, Hope, tried to fight off the attacker. Federal and state prosecutors have filed very similar charges in federal and state courts. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says she wants the state case to go first, but so far, the hearings have been in or scheduled for federal court. "Normally, these things are worked out and discussed ahead of time. However, now that he is in federal custody, he is not going back to state. I highly doubt they would allow him to make a court appearance," defense attorney Joe Tamburino, who is not affiliated with the case, said. Federal prosecutors say it's possible Boelter, who has not entered a plea yet, could face the death penalty. That decision will be made in Washington by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Already this year, she has decided in another sensational murder case with Minnesota ties that Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, will face a possible death sentence. Bondi decides whether or not to seek the death penalty in all federal prosecutions that would qualify for it, and murder qualifies for it. In the only court appearance so far, Boelter was given a taxpayer-paid public defender, the judge saying an evaluation of Boelter's finances will be needed. But Magistrate Judge John Docherty said the charges against Boelter are so serious that he probably will permanently end up with a public defender. Boelter comes to court with more assets than most. He owns a spacious home in Green Isle, Minnesota, an hour southwest of Minneapolis. According to Zillow, the home is worth $520,000 and has 3,800 square feet and 11 acres. It was purchased in 2023 for $520,000. In court, Boelter said it is paid for. Boelter also reported he owns seven cars and has $20,000 to $30,000 in cash, and has at least 50 guns. They are considerable assets, considering he had what he descibed as a par- time job making $540 a week. "I don't know of any practitioner in Minnesota that could actually handle that because we haven't had a death penalty since 1906," Tamburino said. "There are a number of federal public defenders in the country who are qualified to do this, so im sure that was part of the factor." Boelter's next federal court appearance is in St Paul this Friday. You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
CNN
14 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump floats Iran ‘regime change' even as the true impact of US strikes is far from clear
President Donald Trump's onslaught of Iran's nuclear plants was the most violent moment of his two terms and America's 46-year showdown with the Islamic Republic. Flush with the spoils of battle, he already seems to be toying with the idea of regime change. But the reality of whether Trump truly destroyed Iran's nuclear ambitions and the consequences of his aggression are far more ambiguous than his bullish claims of victory would suggest. The president insisted Sunday that the damage to three nuclear sites struck by the US was 'monumental.' He posted on social media that 'the hits were hard and accurate.' Round-the-world raids by B-2 stealth bombers out of Missouri using never-before-deployed 'bunker-busting' bombs demonstrated the unique reach of the US military and its continued potency despite Trump administration chaos at the Pentagon. If Trump's order eradicated Iran's nuclear program, or set it back years or decades, he could claim a legacy achievement that lifted an existential threat to Israel. If Iranian power is neutered, the Middle East could be transformed. The president effectively tried to bomb Iran to the negotiating table and to an effective surrender of its capacity to enrich uranium. But it's a long shot whether humiliation by an enemy Tehran regards as the 'Great Satan' will convince it to sue for peace. And questions are mounting over whether the strikes over the weekend truly 'obliterated' all of Iran's nuclear infrastructure as Trump claims. And the president has still not shared the intelligence that convinced him that Iran was 'a few weeks away' from building a nuclear weapon — even though US spy agencies assessed it had not yet decided to do so. It is now vital to establish whether Iran salvaged any enriched nuclear material or even relocated it ahead of the US strikes. If it did, Trump's bid to eliminate its path to a weapon could instead catalyze a race by Tehran to build a rudimentary device that would leave the world a far more dangerous place. 'Anybody who says that they have any idea whatsoever about whether these raids did anything other than create a big boom and a lot of dust has no idea what they're talking about,' Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN's Kasie Hunt on 'State of the Union' on Sunday. In the meantime, everyone is waiting on Iran's military revenge, with the Middle East on alert for new turmoil — and Americans potentially in the firing line. Tehran's decisions will be fateful. A slide into yet another open-ended Middle East war is not inevitable. But history shows that American attempts to reshape the region almost always fail to capitalize on 'shock and awe' openings. Amir-Saeid Iravani, the Islamic Republic's envoy to the United Nations, said on Sunday that 'the timing, nature and the scale of Iran's proportionate response will be decided by its armed forces.' There's growing uncertainty, meanwhile, about the president's intentions. Vice President JD Vance insisted on Sunday that the US wasn't at war with Iran or seeking to topple its leaders. But Trump on Sunday evening raised the possibility of mission creep, asking on Truth Social, 'Why wouldn't there be a Regime change???' That was likely music to the ears of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The situation inside Iran's leadership remains opaque. The country was already in a period of transition as the long rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei enters its sunset. But Israel's dismantling of Iran's regional power by crushing its proxies in Gaza and Lebanon, and now America's blow against its nuclear aspirations, could foment unpredictable political forces. It's unlikely that any loosening of the clerical regime's control would result in the more benign leadership that the US and Israel would prefer, and which millions of more moderate Iranians crave. Instead, political upheaval could bring even greater domestic repression. And any signs of state collapse in a nation twice the size of Iraq could send shockwaves throughout the region and across the globe. America's latest plunge back into the Middle East is already having profound political reverberations back home. Top Republicans heaped praise on what they see as Trump's strength, clarity and daring. But despite his deep bond with his base, some influential right-wing influencers fear he could be driving the MAGA movement into a quagmire. And a president with autocratic instincts who is severely straining the rule of law and the Constitution and is using his power to punish his perceived enemies has now led the US into a potential new conflict on a hunch without making any case to the public and after ignoring Congress's power to declare war. This cascade of uncertainties in the aftermath of Trump's strikes underline that he gave up total control of this new crisis as soon as US bunker busters dropped on the Fordow nuclear plant. The resolution of this clash with Iran — a seat of civilization laced with historic, sectarian, religious and political fault lines and a resentment of perceived US colonialism — is unlikely to be as clean as the decision to send a squadron of B-2 bombers around the globe to enforce the impulses of an American strongman. The next move probably belongs to Iran. Depending on the state of its military after days of pounding Israeli airstrikes, Tehran has options. It could target vast US military bases and assets in the region. It might close the Strait of Hormuz to spark a global energy crisis. It could send missiles into the oil fields of US allies. It might try to stage terror attacks against US interests in the region, or even in the American homeland. Each of these options comes with high risks. It may be counterproductive, for instance, for Tehran to close shipping lanes that would slow its own oil exports to China and Russia, its nominal allies. But each of these steps could also draw Trump deeper into a direct confrontation with Iran and a full-scale war — showing the limits of his ability to control a cycle of escalation. Vance told ABC News' 'This Week' that if Iran gave up its nuclear program 'peacefully' then it would find a willing partner in the US, but if it hit back against US troops, it would be met with 'overwhelming force.' But a president who vowed to avoid new wars sounds increasingly warlike. In his social media post announcing the strikes on Saturday, Trump called on Iran to negotiate with the US over the complete end of its nuclear program. But his subsequent address to the nation was far more belligerent, warning, 'There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left.' The possibility of deepening hostilities therefore seems acute. This is not least because a regime that defined itself for nearly half a century through antipathy to the US may perceive an existential need to show strength. Still, a resort to all-out warfare by Iran could offer an opening for the US or Israel to move toward a regime decapitation strategy — despite the grave risks of turning Iran into a failed state. The exact state of Iran's remaining nuclear capability will be a top issue in the coming days. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was noticeably far less bullish in immediate assessments of the results of Saturday's raids than Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. New battle damage assessments carried out by surveillance and other forms of intelligence could decide whether Trump may order follow-up raids that could further exacerbate tensions. Early independent examinations of the aftermath of the strikes suggest that the damage to one of the three key sites — Isfahan, which was targeted by US cruise missiles — was restricted to aboveground structures. Unlike the other two Iranian facilities targeted in the operation, B-2 bombers did not drop massive 'bunker-buster' bombs on the Isfahan facility, multiple sources told CNN. 'This is an incomplete strike,' said Jeffrey Lewis, a weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who has closely reviewed commercial satellite imagery of the strike sites. 'If this is all there is, here's what left: the entire stockpile of 60% uranium, which was stored at Isfahan in tunnels that are untouched.' Himes warned that Iran could have moved some enriched uranium out of Fordow before the strikes. 'You have got the possibility — and I will stress possibility here — that there's a lot of highly enriched uranium sitting underneath a hornet-mad regime that has decided that the only way we're going to forestall this in the future is to actually sprint towards a nuclear weapon,' Himes said. If that is the case, Trump will have created a threat to the US and Israel that will rumble on for years to come. 'I think the more interesting thing other than retaliation, is reconstitution,' Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. 'What lessons did the Iranians draw? It's quite possible they will decide that this never would have happened had they had nuclear weapons. So I think it's possible their retaliation is relatively modest. And what they really want to do is put themselves on a trajectory where some years down the road, when there's another crisis, they're in a different position.' 'So, this may not be quite as neat as we think. This could actually play out not just over weeks and months, but over many years.' Washington, meanwhile, is already buzzing with a familiar spectacle of officials, experts and pundits all making logical cases for why Trump was right to act, why the mission succeeded and how Iran could best serve its interests with a restrained response. But as the long list of lost US wars in the late 20th century and 21st century attests, things are almost never so simple.
