Biden's doctor lied about cancer or is incompetent, says Obama medic
A former presidential doctor has accused Joe Biden's White House physician of lying or being incompetent after the 82 year-old was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer last week.
Ronny Jackson, who treated Barack Obama and also Donald Trump during his first term, is now a hardline Republican congressman.
He echoed questions among allies of Mr Trump about whether those in Mr Biden's circle knew more than they were letting on about his health.
'I think there's a probability here that they knew he [Biden] had prostate cancer some time ago and just didn't tell the American people,' he told the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news site.
He singled out Mr Biden 's doctor of more than 15 years for either missing the diagnosis or hiding it.
' Dr Kevin O'Connor either lied to the American people or he's incompetent,' Dr Jackson said, adding that he had tested both Mr Obama and Mr Trump.
He also said he feared Mr Biden had between 12 and 18 months to live following the diagnosis, but added that it was not his area of medical expertise.
Dr O'Connor has become the focus of anger in Maga circles following the announcement by Mr Biden's office on Sunday that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage-four cancer.
In a statement, a Biden spokesman said the cancer had been detected after the former president saw a doctor for urinary symptoms.
The timing could not have been worse, just ahead of publication of Original Sin, a book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, which claims to lay out who knew what about Mr Biden's growing frailty in office, and his decision to ultimately drop out of the election race last year.
Following the announcement about Mr Biden's diagnosis, conspiracy theories have emerged questioning whether the president, who can call on the very best medical expertise, and his family already knew he had cancer long before the public statement.
Mr Trump appeared to suggest a cover-up, saying when asked about the diagnosis on Monday: 'I think it is very sad, actually. I am surprised that the public wasn't notified a long time ago.'
Prostate guidelines
Mr Biden's aides have tried to clear up any suggestion that they had prior knowledge of the diagnosis, or withheld information.
Several doctors pointed out that health guidelines recommend against testing for prostate cancer in men over 70. An aide of Mr Biden's also said the former president's last medical check for prostate cancer had been in 2014.
Dr Jackson frequently questioned Mr Biden's fitness for office during his four years at the White House. He called repeatedly for the then president to take a cognitive screening test and make the results public, and accused Dr O'Connor of being less than transparent about his health.
However, his standing was undermined when his Navy rank was reduced from admiral to captain after a Pentagon inspector general found he had berated subordinates in the White House medical unit, took the sleep drug Ambien while on duty and drank alcohol inappropriately with subordinates.
After the final routine medical examination of Mr Biden's presidency, Dr O'Connor declared him to be a 'healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male'.
Dr O'Connor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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