Ex-Biden aide agrees to testify to House committee about president's mental fitness while in office
A former senior adviser to President Joe Biden has agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door interview as part of its investigation into claims of Biden's cognitive decline while in office.
Neera Tanden, who served as a senior adviser, White House Staff Secretary, and Director of the Domestic Policy Council during the Biden administration, is set to testify before the committee on June 24, according to an Oversight Committee aide.
Her closed-door testimony will be recorded and reviewed as part of Republican committee members' investigation into Biden's mental acuity and the alleged cover-up by his staff and allies.
Republican Representative James Comer, the chairman of the committee, has accused Democrats, the media, and the Biden administration of 'propping up a man who was unfit to lead.' Comer believes the so-called 'cover up' allowed for the utilization of 'autopens' to issue 'blanket pardons' for members of the Biden family. President Donald Trump has made similar claims that the use of the autopen meant someone other than Biden was in charge of the White House during his term.
Tanden has acknowledged that the autopen is used in 'a lot' of administrations but has not provided any public comment on Biden's use of it or his cognitive function.
Comer had requested Tanden and other former staffers he's accused of engaging in a 'cover-up,' testify to the committee and threatened to subpoena those who do not voluntarily comply.
Tanden, 54, is a prominent Democratic political consultant who has worked in the Clinton, Obama and Biden administrations.
When Biden took office in 2020, he nominated Tanden to serve as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. However, the nomination was considered controversial due to Tanden's history of name-calling in tweets. The White House eventually withdrew Tanden's nomination and appointed her senior adviser and staff secretary.
The testimony will come after a renewed focus on Biden's mental fitness, which was the subject of Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's book Original Sin.
Comer has also requested testimony from Michael Donilon and Anita Dunn, former senior advisers; Bruce Reed, former deputy chief of staff; and Steve Ricchetti, the former counselor to the president.
Others subpoenaed include Anthony Bernal, a former senior adviser to First Lady Jill Biden; Ashley Williams, the former deputy director of Oval Office operations; and Annie Tomasini, the former deputy chief of staff.
Comer has also subpoenaed Biden's physician, Kevin O'Connor.
Biden has maintained that he drove the decision-making during his presidency. There has been no evidence that aides acted on his behalf or that anyone other than Biden used the autopen.
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