I'm a geriatric MD — Joe Biden's plight shows telltale signs of elder abuse
So as an alarmed citizen, I have referred former President Joe Biden to the Adult Protective Services Division of Delaware's Department of Health and Social Services as a likely elder-abuse victim — naming Jill Biden, Dr. Kevin O'Connor and former Biden chief of staff Jeffrey Zients as possible perpetrators.
The news of Biden's advanced prostate cancer diagnosis, the release of audio from special counsel Robert Hur's 2023 interview and the revelations of Biden's cognitive decline from the new book 'Original Sin' make it clear to me that we're seeing something even more malevolent than a political and media cover-up: The former president was, and likely still is, being victimized.
Elder abuse is an intentional act or failure to act by a caregiver or another trusted person that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.
As this case tragically demonstrates, it can happen to anyone, committed by anyone.
Visible bruising and other injuries from physical violence are obvious forms of abuse.
Non-violent actions — like deprivation of food, causing weight loss, or intimidation, causing social withdrawal and personality changes — are also defined as abusive behavior.
A more sinister type of elder abuse, however, involves the exploitation of an elderly individual for the abuser's financial, personal or — in this case — political gain.
It seems apparent that those closest to Joe Biden, people upon whom he was and remains dependent, usurped the power and authority of his office for their own benefit, while professionals who had a duty to protect him failed to do so.
Who can forget Jill Biden's gushing praise of her husband's humiliating performance during the presidential debate?
What was behind her insistence that he run for office when she, above all others, had to be aware of his failing cognitive capacities and declining physical health?
Is she a loving spouse or a master manipulator, using his dependency on her to control his decision-making? If the latter, she is engaged in elder abuse.
What kind of medical professional could fail to recognize the profound deterioration of the president's physical and intellectual capabilities?
How could a physician issue a clean bill of health for someone so obviously suffering from dementia, condoning the pursuit of another four-year stint in the most cognitively challenging job on the planet?
How could any clinician fail to diagnose prostate cancer when it was still in an early, potentially curable stage?
Either Dr. Kevin O'Connor failed to practice medicine at the professional standard of care, or he has actively participated in a cover-up — in which case he, too, was involved in elder abuse.
The case against him is even more egregious since O'Connor, above all others, had a professional duty to protect his patient.
Which person — or indeed, how many people — on the president's staff used his autopen to sign official documents, including the dozens of presidential pardons in his final days?
Surely, they recognized the same limitations that Hur saw when he de facto acknowledged Biden's lack of cognitive capacity.
But even if they blinded themselves to the truth, the Justice Department's website specifically defines as elder abuse the use of a senior's signature to execute monetary and other transactions the individual doesn't understand.
Shame on Jeffrey Zients and all other staff members who literally stole the authority of a compromised, vulnerable old man for their own purposes.
The referral I filed to the state of Delaware did not recommend Hur for investigation, but I find his actions both questionable and concerning.
He declined to press criminal charges against Biden for illegally retaining classified documents, because he found the president to be 'a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.'
As a trained attorney, however, Hur must have been aware that the American Bar Association recognizes the legal concept of 'undue influence' as it relates to elder abuse: the intentional use of social influence, deception and manipulation to gain control of the decision-making of another.
Hur came to his conclusions regarding Biden's lack of capacity in October 2023, but failed to sound the alarm — despite being fully aware that the complex orders and documents being issued in the president's name exceeded his cognitive capabilities.
Didn't he have a duty to do so, under his profession's stated standards?
In our system, the final determination of whether an elder has been the victim of abuse is made by a state's Adult Protective Services agency, following its investigation of a credible allegation.
We can only hope that the state of Delaware will function as it should — and give the former president the attention and scrutiny his tragic situation deserves.
Elaine Healy, MD, FACP is a practicing geriatric physician and certified nursing-home medical director.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
9 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump isn't trying to ‘erase history' at Smithsonian — he's reversing a destructive woke takeover
Liberals were up in arms this week after President Trump said he wanted a review of the Smithsonian Institute — saying their displays were too negative, and too focused on slavery. But Trump isn't trying to 'erase history,' he's looking to reverse a woke movement that has indeed rewritten the American story to highlight suffering rather than providing a balanced picture of our past. Trump's criticism that the Smithsonian is overly focused on slavery is not unreasonable: In nearly every exhibit, critical race theory in general, or slavery specifically, makes an appearance. For instance, its new Benjamin Franklin exhibit on his innovations includes a whole section on slavery — with assumptions, but no proof, that slaves assisted Franklin in his electrical innovations. Even if they hadn't, the curators argue that without their work around the house, Franklin couldn't have spent the time on his experiments! 'Franklin held people enslaved during the time he pursued his electrical experiments. Their labor in his household helped make time that he could use to study electricity. Family, friends, and visitors directly participated in electrical experiments. The records are few and unclear, but enslaved people may also have directly assisted his research.' Another example of the obsession with slavery comes from the National Portrait Gallery; nearly every early Founding Father's description includes a statement on slavery. For example, the description for Thomas Jefferson includes the statement: 'Although Jefferson once called slavery 'an abominable crime,' he consistently enslaved African Americans, including his late wife Martha's half-sister, Sally Hemings, with whom he had several children.' The overemphasis on the history of slavery is a fairly recent development, an offshoot of the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2019, Lonnie G. Bunch III took over as the Secretary of the Smithsonian. Prior to that, Bunch was the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is nearly exclusively focused on the legacy of slavery, with exhibits such as In Slavery's Wake, Slavery and Freedom, and Make Good the Promise, which deal with the history of slavery. Also in 2019, the Smithsonian collaborated with the New York Times on its 1619 Project, which falsely claims that the United States started, not with the Declaration of Independence or Revolutionary War, but when the first slave ship arrived. As curator Mary Elliot remarked at the time: 'This is a shared history, everyone inherited the legacies of slavery.' But America's history is more than just about slavery, and not everyone inherited this legacy — after all, America is also a nation of immigrants who came after the Civil War. In the Smithsonian 2020 annual report, more obsession with slavery comes into view. The Smithsonian is on a mission to have a completely searchable digital museum called 'The Searchable Museum Initiative.' One may think it would begin with digitization of some our greatest moments in history, such as the landing on the moon, the passing of the US Constitution, or even its great Natural History collections. You would be wrong; the digitization began 'with the museum's Slavery and Freedom exhibition.' The annual report claims that 'The Searchable Museum will provide rich, interactive, digital experiences that match the immersive experience of a visit to the physical museum' — unfortunately, likely as biased as a visit to the museum themselves. The problem with modern museums is not just about the obsession with slavery; it's also about dishonestly painting all of American history as evil and full of horrors — with little or no redeeming qualities. For instance, in the Smithsonian's American Indian Museum in NYC, George Washington hardly gets a mention, but his silhouette is used in a description of him as a 'town destroyer' — supposedly a nickname that Native Americans still use to describe our first President. And yet there's no mention in either of the American Indian Museums — in NYC or DC — about slavery practiced by Native Americans, both before Europeans' arrival and afterward. For example, the Cherokee owned slaves. In 1835, 15,000 Cherokee owned 1,592 African slaves; by the Civil War onset, 17,000 Cherokee owned 4,000 African slaves. While museums should provide an honest account of history, they should not be afraid to showcase and celebrate American achievement, which includes ending slavery. At present, however, museums seem more interested in pushing a woke, revisionist history of the United States. With two new Smithsonian museums in development, the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum, we can expect more of the same — unless we take action against woke propaganda now. Elizabeth Weiss is a professor emeritus of anthropology at San José State University and author of 'On the Warpath: My Battles with Indians, Pretendians, and Woke Warriors.'
Axios
39 minutes ago
- Axios
Texas Democrat abruptly leaves call with DNC chair, citing felony warning
Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier on a call with DNC Chair Ken Martin and other senior party leaders told them she had to abruptly leave the call after being warned it was a felony offense. The big picture: Collier was among the Texas Democrats who left the state in a two-week protest over a new congressional map before returning on Monday, when the state House reached a quorum. She slept in the state Capitol on Monday and accused the state's House speaker of illegally confining her and threatening her with arrest. Driving the news: Martin was speaking when Collier suddenly said, "Sorry, I have to leave. They said it's a felony for me to do this. Apparently I can't be on the floor or in the bathroom." Sen. Cory Booker (DN.J.) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who were also on the call, looked shocked at what happened. "That is outrageous," Booker said. "What they're trying to do right there, is silence an American leader, silence a Black woman and that is outrageous."
Atlantic
40 minutes ago
- Atlantic
Bring on the ‘MAHA Boxes'
Millions of Americans might soon have mail from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The health secretary—who fiercely opposes industrial, ultraprocessed foods—now wants to send people care packages full of farm-fresh alternatives. They will be called 'MAHA boxes.' For the most part, MAHA boxes remain a mystery. They are mentioned in a leaked draft of a much-touted report the Trump administration is set to release about improving children's health. Reportedly, the 18-page document—which promises studies on the health effects of electromagnetic radiation and changes in how the government regulates sunscreen, among many other things—includes this: 'MAHA Boxes: USDA will develop options to get whole, healthy food to SNAP participants.' In plain English, kids on food stamps might be sent veggies. The idea might seem like a throwaway line in a wish list of policies. (Kush Desai, a deputy White House press secretary, told me that the leaked report should be disregarded as 'speculative literature.') But MAHA boxes are also referenced in the budget request that President Donald Trump sent Congress in May. In that document, MAHA boxes full of 'commodities sourced from domestic farmers and given directly to American households' are proposed as an option for elderly Americans who already get free packages of shelf-stable goods from the government. When I asked the Department of Health and Human Services for more information about MAHA boxes, a spokesperson referred me back to the White House; the Department of Agriculture, which runs the food-stamp program, did not respond. MAHA boxes are likely to come in some form or another. Some of the packages might end up in the trash. Lots of people, and especially kids, do not enjoy eating carrots and kale. Just 10 percent of U.S. adults are estimated to hit their daily recommended portion of vegetables. But if done correctly, MAHA boxes could do some real good. For years, nutrition experts have been piloting similar programs. A recent study that provided diabetic people with healthy meal kits for a year found that their blood sugar improved, as did their overall diet quality. Another, which provided people with a delivery of fruits and vegetables for 16 weeks, showed that consumption of these products increased by nearly half a serving per day. It makes sense: If healthy food shows up at your door, you're probably going to eat it. 'Pretty much any American is going to benefit from a real healthy food box,' Dariush Mozaffarian, the director of the Tufts Food Is Medicine Institute, told me. Sending people healthy food could be a simple way to deal with one of the biggest reasons why poor Americans don't eat more fruits and veggies. The food-stamp program, otherwise known as SNAP, provides enrollees with a debit card they can use for food of their choosing—and a significant portion of SNAP dollars go to unhealthy foods. Research finds that has less to do with people having a sweet tooth than it does the price of a pound of brussel sprouts. Several studies have found that, for food-stamp recipients, price is one of the biggest barriers to eating healthy. Many states already have incentives built into SNAP to encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables. MAHA boxes would be an even more direct nudge. Most nutrition experts I spoke with for this story were much more supportive of MAHA boxes being sent to Americans in addition to food stamps than as a replacement for them. Exactly how the care packages would fit into other food-assistance programs isn't yet clear. Despite its shortcomings, SNAP is very effective at limiting hunger in America. Shipping heavy boxes of produce to the nation's poor is a much bigger undertaking than putting cash on a debit card. There's also the question of what exactly these MAHA boxes will include. If the 'whole, healthy food' in each care package includes raw milk and beef tallow —which Kennedy has promoted—that would only worsen American health. (His own eating habits are even more questionable: Kennedy once said that he ate so many tuna sandwiches that he developed mercury poisoning.) In May, after the Trump administration mentioned MAHA boxes in its budget request, a White House spokesperson told CBS News that the packages would be similar to food boxes that the first Trump administration sent during the pandemic in an effort to connect hungry families with food that would otherwise go to waste. According to a letter signed by Trump that was sent to recipients, each box was supposed to come with 'nutritious food from our farmers.' News reports at the time suggested that wasn't always the case. One recipient reportedly was shipped staples such as onions, milk, some fruit, and eggs, along with seven packages of hot dogs and two blocks of processed cheese. Another described their box as 'a box full of old food and dairy and hot dogs.' The COVID-era program did eventually deliver some 173 million food boxes. But it was still a failure, Gina Plata-Nino of the Food Research & Action Center, an organization that advocates for people on food-assistance programs, told me. The logistics were such a mess that they prompted a congressional investigation. Nonprofits, which helped distribute the packages, received 'rotten food and wet or collapsing boxes,' investigators were told. And the setup of the program was apparently so rushed that the government did not bother to check food distributors' professional references; investigators concluded that a 'company focused on wedding and event planning without significant food distribution experience' was awarded a $39 million contract to transport perishables to food banks. This time around, the White House doesn't have to navigate the urgency of a sudden pandemic in its planning. But questions remain about who exactly will be responsible for getting these boxes to millions of Americans around the country. The White House will likely have to partner with companies that have experience shipping perishable items to remote areas of the country. And although the White House budget says that MAHA boxes will replace a program that primarily provides canned foods to seniors through local food banks, it remains to be seen whether these organizations would have the resources to administer a program of this size. Perhaps the Trump administration has already thought through all these potential logistical hurdles. But trouble with executing grand plans to improve American health has been a consistent theme throughout Trump's tenures in office. In 2020, for example, he pledged to send seniors a $200 discount card to help offset rising drug costs. The cards never came amid questions about the legality of the initiative. Americans do need to change their eating habits if we hope to improve our collective problems of diet-related disease. Getting people excited about the joys of eating fruits and vegetables is laudable. So, too, are some of Kennedy's other ideas on food, such as getting ultraprocessed foods out of school cafeterias. But Kennedy still hasn't spelled out how he will deliver on these grand visions. The government hasn't even defined what an ultraprocessed food is, despite wanting to ban them. The ideas are good, but a good idea is only the first step.
