Latest news with #SenatePermanentSubcommitteeonInvestigations
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP senator demands Biden officials testify about alleged cover-up of Biden's health problems
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is writing letters to two dozen former senior Biden administration officials to appear before his committee to answer what they knew about former President Biden's health problems in light of allegations that White House officials deliberately kept his cognitive and physical decline a secret. 'We've written letters to more than two dozen top administration officials and we've requested interviews with them,' he said. 'It's all the people you think, anybody who should have had frequent contact with the president.' Johnson said his staff is sending letters requesting testimony to former Vice President Kamala Harris, Cabinet officials such as former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Biden's former chief of staff Jeff Zients. Johnson said he would consider issuing subpoenas if his invitations are ignored. 'We'll first politely invite them,' he said. 'Hopefully they'll come in and do an interview.' The Wisconsin senator is asking for former officials to answer some 'basic questions.' 'This doesn't have to be daylong type of interview or even half a day,' he said. 'Give us an hour of your time, we have some basic questions we want to ask you.' 'They owe that to the American public,' he said. Johnson said he's not ruling out subpoenas if he gets stonewalled and noted that he does not need support from the top-raking Democrat on the subcommittee, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), to issue them. Biden and former first lady Jill Biden have pushed back hard on reports that the former president's inner circle covered up serious health problems during the second half of his four-year term. Former President Biden told 'The View' earlier this month he could have beaten Trump in November 2024 if he had stayed in the race. He stepped aside after coming under tremendous pressure from Democratic lawmakers and donors not to run for a second term after turning in a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June. Biden insisted he had 'a bad, bad night' in the debate but that it didn't reflect any serious cognitive or health issues. 'There is nothing to sustain that,' he said. Jill Biden said on the program that 'the people who wrote those books' alleging serious mental lapses by the former president 'weren't in the White House with us.' 'They didn't see how hard Joe worked every single day. He'd get up, he'd put in a full day and then at night, I'd be reading my book, and he was still on the phone, reading his briefings, working with staff,' she said. Questions of a possible cover-up of the true extent of former President Biden's health problems have been fueled this week by reporting in a new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson that senior White House aides discussed the possibility that Biden would need a wheelchair if elected to a second term. The book, 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and his Disastrous Choice to Run Again,' also reports that Biden failed to recognize Hollywood star and major Democratic donor George Clooney when he arrived at a June 2024 fundraiser for the president. Tapper and Thompson wrote that Biden appeared 'severely diminished, as if he'd aged a decade since Clooney last saw him in December 2022.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
GOP senator demands Biden officials testify about alleged cover-up of Biden's health problems
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is writing letters to two-dozen former senior Biden administration officials to appear before his committee to answer what they knew about Biden's health problems in light of allegations that White House officials deliberately kept Biden's cognitive and physical decline a secret. 'We've written letters to more than two dozen top administration officials and we've requested interviews with them,' he said. 'It's all the people you think, anybody who should have had frequent contact with the president.' Johnson said his staff is sending letters requesting testimony to Vice President Kamala Harris, Cabinet officials such as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Biden's former chief of staff Jeff Zients. Johnson said he would consider issuing subpoenas if his invitations are ignored. 'We'll first politely invite them,' he said. 'Hopefully they'll come in and do an interview.' The Wisconsin senator is asking for former officials to answer some 'basic questions.' 'This doesn't have to be day-long type of interview or even half a day,' he said. 'Give us an hour of your time, we have some basic questions we want to ask you.' 'They owe that to the American public,' he said. Johnson said he's not ruling out subpoenas if he gets stonewalled and noted that he does not need support from the top-raking Democrat on the subcommittee, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), to issue them. Biden and former first lady Jill Biden have pushed back hard on reports that the former president's inner circle covered up serious health problems during the second half of his four-year term. Biden told 'The View' earlier this month that he could have beaten Trump in November of 2024 if he had stayed on in the race. He stepped aside after coming under tremendous pressure from Democratic lawmakers and donors not to run for a second term after turning in a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June. Biden insisted he had 'a bad, bad night' in the debate but that it didn't reflect any serious cognitive or health issues. 'There is nothing to sustain that,' he said. Jill Biden said on the program that 'the people who wrote those books' alleging serious mental lapses by the former president 'weren't in the White House with us.' 'They didn't see how hard Joe worked every single day. He'd get up, he'd put in a full day and then at night, I'd be reading my book, and he was still on the phone, reading his briefings, working with staff,' she said. Questions of a possible coverup of the true extent of Biden's health problems have been fueled this week by reporting in a new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson that senior White House aides discussed the possibility that Biden would need a wheel chair if elected to a second term. The book, 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and his Disastrous Choice to Run Again,' also reports that Biden failed to recognize Hollywood star and major Democratic donor George Clooney when he arrived at a June 2024 fundraiser for the president. Tapper and Thompson wrote that Biden appeared 'severely diminished, as if he'd aged a decade since Clooney last saw him in December 2022.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Josh Green heading to D.C. to urge vaccinations
GEORGE F. LEE / HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER Gov. Josh Green urges everyone to get vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella, at an April 8 press conference in Honolulu. GEORGE F. LEE / HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER Gov. Josh Green urges everyone to get vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella, at an April 8 press conference in Honolulu. Gov. Josh Green will board a coach seat for a red-eye flight to Washington, D.C., on Monday to testify in support of vaccinations after Hawaii's 90 % COVID-era vaccine rate resulted in the lowest COVID mortality rate in the country. Green will appear on May 21, before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which intends to 'examine the development and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, ' according to the request for him to testify in person issued by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Green—America's only sitting governor who's also a medical doctor—previously testified against the Senate confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary because of Kennedy's skepticism of vaccines. So Green plans to also talk to the Senate committee about the need to encourage measles vaccinations. Green expects vaccine skeptics to testify at the hearing that COVID vaccinations did not work because other communities that vaccinated residents at lower rates than Hawaii had high rates of deaths and illnesses, which only proves Green's point, he said. 'I'm sure measles will come up, ' Green told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 'I will give an impassioned plea to follow the science. … I disagree with their thesis that the COVID vaccines were not necessarily helpful.' Hawaii's high rate of COVID vaccinations and low mortality rate 'benefited us and we ended up surviving. So it's an impossible invitation to pass up. … My unique position as a physician-governor make many of these opportunities possible and I can see this advantage to improve the treatment of Hawaii.' Green's visit follows other trips by Green to the mainland and Washington, D.C., where's met with President Donald Trump and administration officials in the White House, including last week to Los Angeles, where he met again with Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The two doctors speak the same language and Green has been urging Oz to oppose dramatic cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Green began his Hawaii medical career serving low-income families in the rural Ka 'u District of Hawaii island who rely on Medicaid and Medicare, which have been targeted for cuts, along with food stamps and other federal programs that residents in Hawaii and all across the country rely on. 'It's made me possible to make the compelling case for saving Medicaid, ' he said. 'You will destroy rural health care. … With Medicaid, governors should be allowed to show a return on investment so our state and also Red States don't suffer.' Green believes he has the ear of the administration and with some Red State Republican governors and Republican members of Congress because he can speak from experience about the value of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and how it can more streamline services to communities that face disasters like the Aug. 8, 2023 Maui wildfires. Green has also suggested that FEMA develop a funding formula to get financial assistance within 72 to 96 hours to communities around the country that are affected by disasters. 'I want to earn enough respect so they'll listen to me when it comes to serious policy questions, ' Green said. 'I also have deep concerns about immigration.' Behind closed doors, Green said Trump Administration officials, cabinet-level secretaries and Red State politicians often share similar concerns about cuts to federal services their constituents need—especially when they have to face voters in the November mid-term elections that are expected to serve as a referendum of the first two years of Trump's second term. 'Of course, I lean left, there's no question, ' Green said. 'We differ on a lot from an ideological standpoint. … But when I talked to the president, 'I said I want to have a good working relationship to do what's best for the country.' Green said he told Trump that he will continue to speak out about Kennedy if Kennedy opposes or spreads doubt about vaccinations. Trump, Green said, replied, 'say whatever you want about Kennedy. Just don't mention me.' Green's relationships with the administration also enabled him to lobby to have the Army restore an online page on the Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team as part the Trump Administration's purge of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The Army said in March that 'The 442nd Regimental Combat team holds an honored place in Army History and we are pleased to republish an article that highlights the brave Soldiers who served in the 'Go-for-Broke ' brigade.' During his trips, Green has also visited the Los Angeles Rams earlier this year and again last week, which resulted in the Rams announcing this month that they will hold a pre-season mini-camp on Maui June 16-19. The Hawaii Tourism Authority supports the return of the Rams' mini camp to War Memorial Stadium after the Aug. 8, 2023, deadly wildfires that killed 102 people devastated Maui's tourism industry. Green also spoke to the Rams to see if they would be interested in taking advantage of a bill the Legislature sent him allowing for naming rights on a new Aloha Stadium, along with the Hawai'i Convention Center. Following a phone call with the Trump Administration in March, Green—who's Jewish—told the Star-Advertiser at the time that he was assured that the University of Hawaii 'is not on the chopping block for antisemitism ' just one day after the Trump administration warned UH and several dozen other colleges and universities that they were under investigation for alleged civil rights violations. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights had sent shock waves throughout the 10-campus UH system with a notice that it was one of 60 institutions of higher education across the country that faced 'potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.' Cancelling the investigation saved Hawaii $600 million in federal funding that could have been cut off, Green said. Green said his connections with the administration also enabled him to convince the U.S. Department of Education to exempt Native Hawaiian, American Indian and Alaska Native history from being categorized as 'diversity, equity and inclusion ' or 'critical race theory ' under the federal government's new directive for the nation's schools. Hayley B. Sanon, acting assistant secretary of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, wrote in a letter dated April 25 that 'It is the position of the Department that American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian history is not classified as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI ) or critical race theory (CRT ), and the Department will not treat Native history as DEI or CRT.' See more : 5 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? .
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate Republican seeks hearings for 9/11 conspiracy theory
A Republican U.S. senator is calling for hearings on September 11 after he went on a podcast promoting conspiracy theories about the 2001 terrorist attacks. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is seeking information and documentation to hold hearings on the event nearly 25 years after it happened, according to Politico. Almost 3,000 people died on that day as a result of two planes crashing into the World Trade Center Twin Tower buildings in New York City, a plane crashing into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and another plane crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. During an appearance on a far-right podcast hosted by Benny Johnson this week, Johnson claimed that one of the buildings around the World Trade Center complex in New York was brought down by a 'controlled demolition' following the collapse of the Twin Towers, according to Politico. The building Johnson is referring to is 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story skyscraper that was part of the complex. The building was not hit by a plane but collapsed due to hours of uncontrolled fire as it was hit by flaming debris. The building has been the subject of conspiracy theories, with people saying explosives that were planted there destroyed it. During the podcast, Johnson went on to say the National Institute of Standards and Technology's investigation into the collapse was 'corrupted.' 'What actually happened on 9/11? What do we know? What is being covered up?' Johnson asked. 'My guess is there's an awful lot being covered up in terms of what the American government knows about 9/11.' Johnson did not lay out a timetable for the hearings during the podcast. A spokesperson told Politico that the timeframe for hearings would 'depend on what information/documentation is obtained by our office.' On the other side of Capitol Hill, Johnson's comments have drawn backlash from U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. In a post on X on Tuesday, Lawler said that Johnson should stop peddling conspiracy theories about the attack. 'Crap like this dishonors and disrespects the innocent lives lost, our brave first responders, and all families and survivors who still carry the pain of 9/11 each and every day,' Lawler wrote. Trump MAGA senator talks tough about Hegseth and gets put on blast Advocates push for 'full conversation' on life without parole sentences Could Trump's crackdown on foreign students exacerbate declining college enrollment? Harvard has a $53 billion endowment. Could it be a weapon in its fight against Trump? Harvard's president to talk stakes of Trump admin's demands in new NBC interview Read the original article on MassLive.
NBC News
24-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson wants to hold hearings on 'what actually happened on 9/11'
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said this week that he wants to hold congressional hearings on a debunked conspiracy theory about the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that there are "an awful lot of questions" about the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. "There's an awful lot of questions," Johnson, the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Monday in an interview on the conservative activist Benny Johnson's podcast. 'What actually happened on 9/11? What do we know? What is being covered up?' Johnson said of the 2001 attacks. "My guess is there's an awful lot being covered up in terms of what the American government knows about 9/11." Asked if he planned on holding hearings, Johnson said, "I think so." "There are a host of questions I will be asking," the senator said. Asked for further details, a spokeswoman for the senator told NBC News on Wednesday that a 'potential hearing will depend on what information/documentation is obtained by our office.' Johnson's comments focused on a long - debunked claim about a building in the World Trade Center complex that collapsed hours after the Twin Towers were brought down by airliners. The Wisconsin senator, who has a history of amplifying conspiracy theories, said in the interview that the investigation into the building that came down, Building 7, was 'corrupt' and suggested its collapse was the result of a 'controlled demolition.' Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, sharply criticized Johnson's comments. "Respectfully, Senator Johnson should stop peddling conspiracy theories about the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history and one that forever altered the lives of so many of my fellow New Yorkers," Lawler wrote in a post on X. "Crap like this dishonors and disrespects the innocent lives lost, our brave first responders, and all families and survivors who still carry the pain of 9/11 each and every day." John Feal, a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero in New York and longtime advocate for first responders, called Johnson's remarks "silly and pathetic." "If Ron Johnson really wants to know what happened on 9/11, I can meet with him," Feal told CNN in an interview Wednesday. "I'll let him know that innocent lives were lost on 9/11. Heroes died racing towards those innocent lives, and subsequently, 137,000 people are now sick because of the aftermath of 9/11." Feal said he'll be in D.C. on Tuesday to advocate against the Trump administration's cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program, and said that's what Johnson should be questioning.
