Hunter Biden's Ambien claim triggers deeper GOP probe into alleged cover-up of former president's cognition
The revelation comes as House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is leading an investigation into the alleged cover-up of President Joe Biden's cognitive decline and his administration's potentially unauthorized autopen use for pardons and executive actions.
"He's 81 years old. He's tired as s--t," Hunter Biden told Andrew Callaghan on his "Channel 5" podcast last weekend. "They give him Ambien to be able to sleep. He gets up on the stage, and he looks like he's a deer in the headlights."
But the former president's son later clarified to ABC News that he did not mean Biden was taking Ambien directly before the debate, and he had intended to make a greater point about his father's rigorous travel schedule in the weeks leading up to that disastrous debate night.
"Hunter Biden's claim that 'they gave him Ambien to be able to sleep' raises serious questions," a House Oversight Committee spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "The House Oversight Committee is looking into this as part of its investigation into the cover-up of President Biden's cognitive decline and unauthorized executive actions by White House staff."
Ambien, or zolpidem, is a prescription medication for insomnia. It is intended only for short-term use, according to GoodRx. Common side effects include dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle and joint pain, and double or blurry vision.
The medication can also cause memory problems and grogginess during the day, and more serious and rare side effects can include hallucinations, "abnormal thinking and behavior" and "possible increased risk of dementia in older adults," according to GoodRx.
Biden's former chief of staff and a fixture of his re-election campaign, Ron Klain, is expected to participate in a transcribed interview on Thursday before the House Oversight Committee.
In a letter requesting his appearance, Comer quoted Klain as cutting Biden's debate prep short last year "due to the president's fatigue and lack of familiarity with the subject matter," adding that Biden "didn't really understand what his argument was on inflation," citing a POLITICO report from earlier this year.
"If White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive's condition—or to perform his duties—Congress may need to consider a legislative response," Comer said, arguing that the scope of Klain's responsibilities in his personal and professional capacities "cannot go without investigation."
Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of The New York Times, and Isaac Arnsdor of The Washington Post describe in their new book, "2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America," how during the June 2024 debate "Biden's aides winced as the president started answering the first question."
And backstage, as Biden stumbled over an answer that questionably ended with, "We finally beat Medicare," Klain stood up and announced, "We're f---ed," according to the authors.
When reached for comment to confirm the book's allegation, Klain told Fox News Digital, "I have nothing to add."
A top former Biden administration aide invoked the Fifth Amendment during her closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee, Fox News Digital was told.
Annie Tomasini became the third Democratic ex-official to stonewall investigators looking into whether signs of Biden's alleged mental decline were covered up by his inner circle.
The former White House deputy chief of staff was seen entering and exiting the committee room in under an hour, saying nothing to reporters either time.
A source familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital that she invoked the Fifth Amendment multiple times. Tomasini herself did not answer when Fox News Digital asked if she did so, and her lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.
"Today, the third witness in our investigation into the cover-up of President Biden's cognitive decline and unauthorized executive actions pleaded the Fifth Amendment. There is now a pattern of key Biden confidants seeking to shield themselves from criminal liability for this potential conspiracy," Comer told Fox News Digital.
Tomasini is the third former Biden administration official to come before committee investigators under subpoena, and the fifth to appear overall.
She was meant to appear Friday for a voluntary transcribed interview, but a committee aide previously told Fox News Digital that Tomasini's lawyers had asked Comer to issue a subpoena specifically.
Both prior officials who appeared under subpoena—former White House physician Kevin O'Connor and Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to former First Lady Jill Biden—also invoked the Fifth Amendment.
Biden's office declined to comment to Fox News Digital about the House GOP probe into his alleged Ambien use.
But a source familiar with the Biden team's thinking regarding the ongoing House Oversight investigation had previously told Fox News Digital that Trump and congressional Republicans are simply seeking "retribution" through a "partisan, coordinated effort."
"It's an attempt to smear and embarrass," the source said. "And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump's DOJ [can] prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge."
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