Latest news with #HouseCommitteeonOversightandGovernmentReform
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gov. Youngkin announces special election to fill Gerry Connolly's seat
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. () — Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday that the special election for Gerald 'Gerry' Connolly's (D-Va.) 11th Congressional District seat will be held on Sept. 9. This announcement comes weeks after Connolly following the of his esophageal cancer. 'Gerry was a fighter': Lawmakers mourn death of Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly Connolly has held the seat for Virginia's 11th District since 2008 and served as the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Before joining Congress, he sat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for 14 years. In April, Connolly said he for his Democratic seat at the end of his term because of health concerns. Youngkin issued a writ of election on June 3 and noted that the deadline to as a candidate for Virginia's 11th Congressional District seat will be July 11 at 5 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Key Biden staffers asked to testify on alleged role in mental decline ‘cover-up'
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is demanding several high-ranking staffers in former President Joe Biden's White House appear for transcribed interviews on their suspected roles working "behind the scenes" to "cover up" the former president's significant mental decline during his term. Comer, who leads the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent interview requests to four key Biden White House aides — former director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden, former assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, former senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal and former deputy director of Oval Office operations Ashley Williams. Comer said that all of these high-ranking staffers worked "behind the scenes" and "ran interference for President Biden" to avoid his worsening condition from being discovered during his time in office. Biden Aide Intimidated Reporter Investigating Former President's Mental Decline With 'Tacit Threat:' Book The chairman has also requested a transcribed interview with Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor. Comer told Fox News last week that these "unelected bureaucrats" had an overwhelming influence over Biden and were possibly serving as "de facto" presidents in his stead. Read On The Fox News App "Today, we are calling on President Biden's physician and former White House advisors to participate in transcribed interviews so we can begin to uncover the truth," Comer said in a statement. The GOP effort comes shortly after the release of "Original Sin" by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, which claims that the Biden White House was going all out trying to control the perception of the aging president's failing health. The book exposes the cover-up of Biden's decline and his decision to run for re-election. Tapper said during an interview with Piers Morgan on Monday that what Biden's aides did to hide his condition from the public could be "even worse" than the Watergate scandal during Richard Nixon's presidency. "It is a scandal. It is without question, and maybe even worse than Watergate in some ways," said Tapper. "The only reason we invoke Watergate is just to make clear like, it's not Watergate — this is an entirely separate scandal, maybe even worse." Credibility Crisis: White House Reporters Speak Out On Whether Biden's Mental Decline Was Deliberately Hidden In his letters, Comer said that while the committee has been investigating the cover-up for nearly a year, "newfound details regarding President Biden's obvious decline demand renewed scrutiny of White House personnel actions and knowledge of relevant information over the course of the prior administration." Comer said the committee is seeking "to understand who made key decisions and exercised the powers of the executive branch during the Biden Administration." "The cover-up of President Biden's obvious mental decline is a historic scandal," he said. "The American people deserve to know when this decline began, how far it progressed, and who was making critical decisions on his behalf." Recalling the Oversight Committee's previous attempts to subpoena these staffers, Comer said that "the Biden White House blocked these individuals from providing testimony." Now, he said that "any continued obstruction will be met with swift and decisive action." If the staffers and physician do not honor his request, Comer said the "next step" will be issuing subpoenas, compelling them to testify. On Tuesday, Comer floated the possibility of also issuing subpoenas to former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as well as Hunter Biden and Jill Biden. "Obviously, we're interested in Jean Pierre. … We're also interested in Jill Biden and Hunter Biden," he said, adding that "if the trail leads us to the next step, which many believe would be perhaps Jill Biden and Hunter Biden, then we will go there." Fox News Digital reached out to Tanden, Tomasini, Bernal, Williams, O'Connor and Jean-Pierre for article source: Key Biden staffers asked to testify on alleged role in mental decline 'cover-up'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GOP-led House committee seeks testimony from Biden's doctor, aides
May 23 (UPI) -- The GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has called on President Joe Biden's physician and former White House aides to sit for interviews as it investigates an alleged cover-up of the former president's health. "The cover-up of President Biden's obvious mental decline is a historic scandal," Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement Thursday. "The American people deserve to know why this decline began, how far it progressed and who was making critical decisions on his behalf." Concerns about Biden's age and mental capacity plagued his re-election campaign and the perception of his fitness for office, following a poor showing at a debate against Donald Trump in June, led to his eventual withdrawal from the race. In the past week, there has been renewed interest in Biden's health after he announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the publication of books that allege his mental capacity while in office had diminished since his election. Allegations and conspiracy theories have been made by President Donald Trump and Republicans that there was a Democratic coverup of Biden's decline while in office and that someone else other than the 46th president was making decisions during his term in office. Comer, who led a failed multiyear impeachment investigation into Biden and his family during the Biden administration, sent letters on Thursday to Dr. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician and longtime family friend, and four of his close aides, demanding they sit for transcribed interviews. The four aides to receive letters from Comer are: Neera Tanden, former director of the Domestic Policy Council, Anthony Bernal; former assistant to the president and senior adviser to former first lady Jill Biden; Annie Tomasini, former assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff; and Ashley Williams, former special assistant to the president and deputy director of Oval Office operations. In the letter to O'Connor, Comer wrote that the committee is "investigating the accuracy, transparency and credibility of your medical assessments" of Biden during his presidency, citing his February 2024 report that described then-president as "a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the president." "Further, the Committee remains interested in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden's physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as president. Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee seeks to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden's fitness to serve from the American people." Biden announced his prostate cancer diagnosis on Sunday. Trump -- who has long attacked Biden over his border policies, often describing them as "Biden's open borders" -- did an about-face following his former political opponent's cancer announcement and shifted blame to those in Biden's inner circle whom he now accuses of being behind the alleged cover-up. "Joe Biden was not for Open Borders, he never talked about Open Borders ... it wasn't his idea to Open the Border, and almost destroy our Country ... It was the people that knew he was cognitively impaired and that took over the Autopen," Trump said on his Truth Social media platform. "This is TREASON at the Highest Level!" Comer said he wants responses to his letters by May 29 and is seeking to schedule interviews between June 2 and 25.
UPI
23-05-2025
- Health
- UPI
GOP-led House committee seeks testimony from Biden's doctor, aides
Then-President Joe Biden walks with White House Dr. Kevin O'Connor at the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 2023. A GOP-led commission on Thursday demanded O'Connor to sit for a transcribed interview. File Photo by Chris Kleponis/ UPI | License Photo May 23 (UPI) -- The GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has called on President Joe Biden's physician and former White House aides to sit for interviews as it investigates an alleged cover-up of the former president's health. "The cover-up of President Biden's obvious mental decline is a historic scandal," Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement Thursday. "The American people deserve to know why this decline began, how far it progressed and who was making critical decisions on his behalf." Concerns about Biden's age and mental capacity plagued his re-election campaign and the perception of his fitness for office, following a poor showing at a debate against Donald Trump in June, led to his eventual withdrawal from the race. In the past week, there has been renewed interest in Biden's health after he announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the publication of books that allege his mental capacity while in office had diminished since his election. Allegations and conspiracy theories have been made by President Donald Trump and Republicans that there was a Democratic coverup of Biden's decline while in office and that someone else other than the 46th president was making decisions during his term in office. Comer, who led a failed multiyear impeachment investigation into Biden and his family during the Biden administration, sent letters on Thursday to Dr. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician and longtime family friend, and four of his close aides, demanding they sit for transcribed interviews. The four aides to receive letters from Comer are: Neera Tanden, former director of the Domestic Policy Council, Anthony Bernal; former assistant to the president and senior adviser to former first lady Jill Biden; Annie Tomasini, former assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff; and Ashley Williams, former special assistant to the president and deputy director of Oval Office operations. In the letter to O'Connor, Comer wrote that the committee is "investigating the accuracy, transparency and credibility of your medical assessments" of Biden during his presidency, citing his February 2024 report that described then-president as "a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the president." "Further, the Committee remains interested in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden's physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as president. Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee seeks to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden's fitness to serve from the American people." Biden announced his prostate cancer diagnosis on Sunday. Trump -- who has long attacked Biden over his border policies, often describing them as "Biden's open borders" -- did an about-face following his former political opponent's cancer announcement and shifted blame to those in Biden's inner circle whom he now accuses of being behind the alleged cover-up. "Joe Biden was not for Open Borders, he never talked about Open Borders ... it wasn't his idea to Open the Border, and almost destroy our Country ... It was the people that knew he was cognitively impaired and that took over the Autopen," Trump said on his Truth Social media platform. "This is TREASON at the Highest Level!" Comer said he wants responses to his letters by May 29 and is seeking to schedule interviews between June 2 and 25.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Comer calls for interviews with Biden's doctor, other White House aides
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) called for interviews of five of former President Biden's aides regarding what he described as an effort to cover up the leader's reported cognitive decline. Comer has requested transcribed statements from Biden's physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor, former Director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden and former assistants Anthony Bernal, Annie Tomasini and Ashley Williams. 'The American people deserve to know when this decline began, how far it progressed, and who was making critical decisions on his behalf,' Comer, who serves as chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said in a Thursday statement. 'Key executive actions signed by autopen, such as sweeping pardons for the Biden Crime Family, must be examined considering President Biden's diminished capacity,' he added. Comer's call for interviews comes after his committee announced it will hold hearings about Biden's cognitive functions and autopen usage throughout his administration. A group of GOP senators on Thursday demanded that Biden officials testify about the alleged cover-up. Biden and his wife, Jill, have denied reports alleging the leader experienced a sharp cognitive decline while in office. Less than a year after leaving the Oval Office, journalists and former staffers have come forward with claims of former President Biden's mental lapses. A transcript of his two-day interview with former special counsel Robert Hur's interview was made public last year after the Biden White House blocked the Justice Department from releasing the audio recording. Hur closed his investigation into the former president's handling of classified documents, concluding that he was a 'well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.' However, newly leaked audio published by Axios showcased Biden's long pauses and lapses during the tape. After reviewing the clip, Comer said Biden wasn't capable of making decisions and became incoherent. The Kentucky lawmaker has requested to interview five of the former president's closest aides before the House committee on June 18. Biden's mental state and age have come into the spotlight in recent weeks amid the release of two high-profile books about the 2024 presidential election — 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again' by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson, and 'Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House' by The Hill's Amie Parnes and NBC's Jonathan Allen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
