Latest news with #HouseOversightandAccountabilityCommittee
The Hill
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Top Biden aide Steve Ricchetti tells GOP panel ex-president was ‘fully capable'
Steve Ricchetti, who was a top adviser to former President Joe Biden and considered to be in his inner circle, said that Biden was 'fully capable of exercising his presidential duties' in a voluntary interview with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday, according to a prepared introductory statement obtained by The Hill. 'Let me be clear: At all times during his presidency, I believed that President Biden was fully capable of exercising his Presidential duties and responsibilities, and that he did so,' Ricchetti's prepared statement said. 'Neither I, nor anyone else, usurped President Biden's constitutional duties, which he faithfully and fully carried out each and every day.' Ricchetti appeared for a transcribed interview with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for the Republican-led panel's investigation into Biden's mental acuity and use of an autopen. Ricchetti said there was 'certainly no conspiracy to hide the President's mental condition from the American people,' and that he was 'not aware of any effort by any member of the White House staff to usurp the President's authority to make decisions or to sign important documents without his knowledge.' 'Did he stumble? Occasionally. Make mistakes? Get up on the wrong side of the bed? He did – we all did. But I always believed – every day – that he had the capability, character, and judgment to be President of the United States,' Ricchetti said. Ricchetti appeared voluntarily before the hours-long voluntary interview that started at 10 a.m. on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. He did not answer questions from reporters while heading into the interview. His statement said efforts by Republicans and the Trump administration 'to taint President Biden's legacy with baseless assertions about President Biden's mental health are an obvious attempt to deflect from the chaos of this Administration's first six months.' Ricchetti charged that the House Oversight Committee's investigation 'is part of a concerted effort by the Administration and its Congressional allies to diminish the record of the former President by advancing the false narrative that President Biden was mentally unable to perform his Constitutional duties and that members of his staff usurped the President's Article II powers.' The top Biden aide said he appeared voluntarily because he believed it important to 'forcefully rebut this false narrative about the Biden Presidency and our role in it.' Several other former aides from the Biden administration that the panel has sought testimony from did not appear voluntarily and were subpoenaed by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.). These Biden aides invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer the committee's questions in recent depositions: Anthony Bernal, former chief of staff to first lady Jill Biden; deputy director of Oval Office operations Annie Tomasini; and Biden's former White House doctor Kevin O'Connor. Others, though, have appeared voluntarily and answered the panel's questions, including former White House chief of staff Ron Klain and former Biden aides Ashley Williams and Neera Tanden. Mike Donilon, another top Biden aide who was a senior advisor to the President, is scheduled to appear for a voluntary interview on Thursday. Other Biden aides scheduled for voluntary transcribed interviews through September include Bruce Reed, former deputy chief of staff for policy; Anita Dunn, former senior advisor to the president for communications, Ian Sams, former special assistant to the president and senior advisor in the White House Counsel's Office; Andrew Bates, a Biden senior deputy press secretary; Karine Jean-Pierre, former White House press Secretary; and Jeff Zients, former White House chief of staff.
The Hill
24-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Top Biden aide Ron Klain answers questions in GOP mental acuity probe
Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain answered questions in an interview with the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in its investigation into former President Biden's mental acuity and use of an autopen. His approach contrasts with some other former Biden aides who refused to answer questions, invoking their Fifth Amendment rights. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said that Klain was 'fairly responsive' to the panel's questions as the interview broke for a lunch break, expecting to continue questioning into late afternoon. 'I found Mr. Klain to be very credible. He answered every single question. He was fully cooperative,' Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a member of the committee, said of Klain's interview. Khanna added that Klain was 'forthcoming' about private conversations he had with Biden and did not avoid questions. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), another member of the committee, said that Klain was 'not trying to avoid answering the questions,' and was 'answering the questions carefully.' 'I think he is telling what he knows accurately,' Biggs said. 'He's trying to be accurate.' Several other former aides from the Biden administration invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer the committee's questions in recent depositions: Anthony Bernal, former Chief of Staff to First Lady Jill Biden; Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations Annie Tomasini; and Biden's former White House doctor Kevin O'Connor. Others, though, have answered questions in depositions with the committee: Former Biden aides Ashley Williams and Neera Tanden. 'Americans what to know, was Joe Biden in fact aware of what the auto pen was being used to sign his name on, or was in fact some family members or high-level officials in the Biden administration just acting unilaterally as president of the United States and using the autopen,' Comer said ahead of Klain's interview. One Biden ally told The Hill that former aides to the president will take different approaches to the investigation that they see as an exercise in political retribution. 'People are going to take different approaches. Some might speak to committee, while others may invoke their fifth amendment rights. But none of it changes the fact that this investigation isn't about oversight—it's about political retribution,' the Biden ally said.
UPI
09-07-2025
- Health
- UPI
Biden doctor refuses to talk to House panel about former president's health
1 of 2 | Chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Rep. James Comer (pictured in Washington, D.C., in 2024) expressed his displeasure Wednesday after former President Joe Biden's doctor refused to testify. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- Regarding President Joe Biden's health, his doctor refused to testify Wednesday during a deposition with a House committee. Dr. Kevin O'Connor cited doctor-patient privilege and the Fifth Amendment, his lawyer said in a statement. "Earlier today, Dr. Kevin O'Connor asserted the physician-patient privilege, as well as his right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in declining to answer questions from the staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding his service as Physician to the President during the Biden Administration," O'Connor's legal counsel said. Last month the chair of the committee, James Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed O'Connor. This was part of the group's investigation into the mental acuity of Biden while he was in office. They also want to know if he was aware of documents that were signed with his "autopen" signature. Comer expressed his displeasure. "It's clear there was a conspiracy to cover up President Biden's cognitive decline after Dr. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician and family business associate, refused to answer any questions and chose to hide behind the Fifth Amendment," Comer said in a statement. "The American people demand transparency, but Dr. O'Connor would rather conceal the truth. (He) took the Fifth when asked if he was told to lie about President Biden's health and whether he was fit to be President of the United States." Comer said the committee won't quit the investigation. "Congress must assess legislative solutions to prevent such a coverup from happening again," he said. "We will continue to interview more Biden White House aides to get the answers Americans deserve." Comer also threatened retaliation: "If Biden's inner circle fails to comply with our subpoenas, we will initiate contempt of Congress," he wrote on X Monday. In a statement, ranking committee member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said Comer and the GOP investigation was wasteful. "The only person's health that Republicans care about is Joe Biden's -- even as 17 million Americans lose access to affordable healthcare thanks to their big budget betrayal," Garcia said. "Oversight Republicans could be working to lower costs for American families and conducting oversight of President (Donald) Trump's corruption, but instead are obsessed with the past. Democrats will continue to look forward and build a more effective and efficient government for the American people." O'Connor's refusal is similar to the more than 30 witnesses who refused to testify after the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capital.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Walz, Hochul, Pritzker to criticize immigration enforcement in House hearing
WASHINGTON – Three Democratic governors are expected to tell Congress in a June 12 hearing that they coordinate with federal immigration authorities to deport convicted criminals but can't afford to shoulder the burden of tracking down and detaining undocumented immigrants. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in testimony prepared for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee the state transferred more than 1,300 convicts to Immigration and Customs Enforcement since she took office in August 2021. 'But we have to draw a line somewhere,' Hochul said. 'New York cannot deputize our state officers to enforce civil immigration violations, such as overstaying a visa.' The hearing focuses on so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions where state and local officials restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to list the jurisdictions and potentially cut off federal funding to them. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, one of the witnesses, said his state hasn't approved sanctuary legislation but that it respects cities and counties that have. The hearing comes at a flashpoint in Los Angeles over federal immigration enforcement. Protesters against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids burned cars, threw rocks and shot fireworks at authorities. But Trump contends he has an electoral mandate for strong border security and mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have exchanged barbs about the protests and the president's deployment of the National Guard to protect federal buildings and agents. Trump called Newsom 'grossly incompetent.' Newsom, a Democrat, called the deployment the 'acts of a dictator.' The committee chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., scheduled the hearing to highlight 'reckless' governors opposing Trump's tougher enforcement. 'The Trump Administration is taking decisive action to deport criminal illegal aliens from our nation but reckless sanctuary states like Illinois, Minnesota, and New York are actively seeking to obstruct federal immigration enforcement,' Comer said in a statement. 'The governors of these states must explain why they are prioritizing the protection of criminal illegal aliens over the safety of U.S. citizens, and they must be held accountable.' The three governors said Congress needs to approve a comprehensive immigration overhaul to avoid tearing apart families of immigrants in search of a better life. Hochul, whose grandparents fled to the U.S. to avoid starvation in Ireland, said most immigrants want to work. Since spring 2022, more than 220,000 immigrants have arrived in New York City, often fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries, she said. But Hochul cited a March 27 case when ICE agents stormed a home in Sackets Harbor, in upstate New York, and arrested a mother and three children while the father was working at a dairy farm. 'They were so-called collateral arrests, suddenly and unjustly cast into a living hell,' Hochul said, before the family was returned after nearly two weeks. 'This is not the America we want to be. We can maintain public safety without tearing children away from their parents.' Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said governors along the southern border have sent more than 50,000 immigrants since August 2022 to be used as 'pawns' in a 'dehumanizing attempt to leverage the crisis for political gain.' Chicago, Cook County and other jurisdictions organized housing through 25 immigrant-focused shelters and helped immigrants find jobs under federal work-authorization programs, Pritzker said. 'At a time when other politicians attempted to distort the truth and disrupt our state, we stayed true to the virtues of the Land of Lincoln,' Pritzker said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said his state helps ICE with criminal cases but that some cities and counties choose not to dedicate time, resources or personnel to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security. Walz, who was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024, blasted the Trump administration's 'cruel and misguided immigration policies.' Minnesotans are 'angry that the federal government has been snatching people up' and detaining them 'without a shred of due process,' he added. Many of the immigrants who have been detained are law-abiding Americans who have or were promised legal status, Walz said. 'It is ridiculous to suggest that Minnesota – a state that is over 1,500 miles away from the southern border and, and 1,000 miles from lawmakers in Washington, D.C. who decide and implement border policy – is somehow responsible for a failure of immigration enforcement,' Walz said. 'Enforcing federal immigration law is not the role of state or local law enforcement.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democratic governors spar with House GOP over immigration enforcement
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Megan Thee Stallion shooting: Rep. Luna says she has new evidence
(NewsNation) — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., says she has seen new evidence proving Tory Lanez is innocent of shooting performer Megan Thee Stallion and is seeking a pardon for the rapper from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 'Based on the evidence that I've seen, Tory is innocent,' Luna said Tuesday on NewsNation's 'CUOMO.' 'We are calling on Gavin Newsom to issue that pardon immediately.' The Florida congresswoman, who serves on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, said her office was presented with evidence that 'actually disproved the conviction' of Lanez, who was sentenced to 10 years behind bars in 2022. Luna specifically cited DNA evidence that she says undermines the case. 'They actually found four people's DNA on that firearm, none of which was Tory's. Not to mention there was zero fingerprints on the actual magazine,' she said. Tory Lanez stabbed in prison, reports say She also referenced what she called 'Ring footage that's been obtained that actually disproves the whole 'dance Megan'' scenario described in court testimony, where Lanez allegedly told Megan to dance before shooting at her feet. Luna said she has reached out to Newsom's office requesting an 'emergency meeting' and is working with Democratic colleagues from California on the issue. The congresswoman said she spoke with Lanez, who was recently stabbed 14 times while incarcerated. According to Luna, Lanez plans to work on prison reform once released. Lanez was convicted after testimony from Megan Thee Stallion, her friend Kelsey Harris, and DNA evidence that prosecutors said linked him to the weapon. The shooting occurred in July 2020 after a party at Kylie Jenner's Hollywood Hills home. Luna said her involvement in the case began after being approached by model and television personality Amber Rose. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
