Latest news with #andHisDisastrousChoice
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.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Jill Biden should have to answer for 'cover up' of former president's decline, White House says
Former first lady Jill Biden should have to answer for her role in the "cover up" of her husband and former President Joe Biden's mental decline, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Multiple books published in 2025 have detailed the deterioration of Biden's mental faculties while in the White House, including in the book "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again" released May 20. "The former first lady should certainly speak up about what she saw in regard to her husband and when she saw it and what she knew, because I think anybody looking again at the videos and photo evidence of Joe Biden with your own eyes and a little bit of common sense can see this was a clear cover up," Leavitt said. "And Joe, by, Jill Biden was certainly complicit in that cover up." 'The Kamala Excuse': Tensions Between Biden And Harris Plagued Their Campaigns, New Book Reveals "There's documentation, video evidence of her clearly shielding her husband away from the cameras that were just on 'The View' last week," Leavitt told reporters Thursday. "She was saying, 'Everything is fine.' She's still lying to the American people. She still thinks the American public are so stupid that they're going to believe her lies. And frankly, it's insulting and she needs to answer for it." A spokesperson for Jill Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Read On The Fox News App "Original Sin," authored by journalists Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, includes stories about how former President Joe Biden struggled to handle fairly routine aspects of a campaign. For example, the book says his team attempted to film a campaign video for ads on television in a high school gym, and have people ask questions akin to a town hall meeting. Biden Struggled To Film 2024 Campaign Videos Amid Declining Health, New Book Claims: 'The Man Could Not Speak' "The campaign was trying to make it look like the president was out there taking off-the-cuff questions from voters in public," the book said. "But the event was closed to reporters, and the campaign had the full list of questions that people would ask." Even so, former President Joe Biden encountered so much "trouble" answering questions that his team decided to cut the footage. Some blamed the poor lighting in the gym, but the book said that others said the real problem remained with the former president. New Book Reveals Biden's Inner Circle Worried About His Age Years Before Botched Debate Performance Meanwhile, Joe Biden's team has pushed back on the material in "Original Sin," which chronicles the 2024 election cycle and how his team allegedly plotted a cover-up to hide just how severely his mental faculties had declined. "There is nothing in this book that shows Joe Biden failed to do his job, as the authors have alleged, nor did they prove their allegation that there was a cover-up or conspiracy," a Biden spokesperson previously said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Nowhere do they show that our national security was threatened or where the President wasn't otherwise engaged in the important matters of the Presidency. In fact, Joe Biden was an effective President who led our country with empathy and skill."Original article source: Jill Biden should have to answer for 'cover up' of former president's decline, White House says
