Latest news with #ex-WhiteHouse
Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Hillary Clinton sounded alarm on Joe Biden's political viability 'by 2024', House investigators hear
Ex-President Joe Biden's former chief of staff Ron Klain told House investigators that Hillary Clinton approached him with concerns about the octogenarian leader's political viability "by 2024," Fox News Digital has learned. Klain spoke with staff on the House Oversight Committee for over five hours on Thursday, as Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., continues to probe whether top Biden aides concealed signs of mental decline in the ex-president. A source familiar with his voluntary interview told Fox News Digital that Klain believed Biden was mentally sharp enough to serve as president, and was not too old to run. But the ex-secretary of state and former Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan both "approached Ron Klain stating they believed Joe Biden was not politically viable" months before he dropped his re-election bid in July 2024, the source said. Sullivan told Klain that Biden "was less effective in 2024 compared to 2022," the source said. It's not immediately clear if Biden's mental acuity was the reasoning for their doubts, nor if they made the case to Klain together or separately. But it's a significant indictment coming from top national Democrats of Biden in general, long before concerns about his fitness for office within the party were made public knowledge. Adrienne Watson, a representative for Sullivan, denied the account in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Jake did not have a conversation with Ron about Joe Biden running for president before the debate," Watson said. Sullivan had been a top aide to both Biden and Clinton, having served as the latter's senior policy advisor during her 2016 campaign. Klain, who served as White House chief of staff for the first half of Biden's term, conceded that the then-president was less energetic and more forgetful, though he defended his "acuity to govern," the source said. "Mr. Klain stated that President Biden often confused names and proper nouns, and it got worse over time," the source said. Fox News Digital was told that Klain also said there was no reason to doubt President Donald Trump's own mental fitness. Klain said nothing to reporters when going in or out of the committee room Thursday. He's the sixth former Biden administration aide to appear for Comer's probe. And despite the interview being largely staff-led, Comer did make an appearance for the early half of the sit-down, and Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., were both briefly there as well. Both Biggs and Khanna called Klain "credible" from what they saw inside the room. "I think he is telling what he knows accurately," Biggs told Fox News Digital. On the other side of the aisle, Khanna told reporters, "He answered every single question. He was fully cooperative." Three other former Biden White House aides who previously appeared – Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and ex-White House doctor Kevin O'Connor – all appeared under subpoena and pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions. Longtime Biden aide Ashley Williams and ex-staff secretary Neera Tanden, like Klain, came for voluntary transcribed interviews. Jeff Zients, who served as Biden's chief of staff for the final two years, was also asked to sit for a transcribed interview, a committee aide previously told Fox News Digital. A source familiar with the Biden team's thinking previously called Republicans' probe "dangerous" and "an attempt to smear and embarrass." "And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump's DOJ prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge," that source said. Fox News Digital also reached out to Klain's attorney as well as a contact for comment for Clinton but did not hear back by press time. Originally published as Hillary Clinton sounded alarm on Joe Biden's political viability 'by 2024', House investigators hear
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Ex-Biden aide testifies in House GOP probe
By Joe Biden's former chief of staff appeared before congressional investigators to testify in the House Republican's inquiry into the former president's cognitive state. Ron Klain, 63, appeared on Capitol Hill Thursday morning for a transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee. Committee chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has been investigating whether former Biden officials intentionally hid signs of the president's decline. He is also probing the aide's use of the autopen, an instrument used to sign official documents, like letters, executive actions and possibly even legislation. The committee seeks to uncover whether orders were signed without the commander-in-chief's full knowledge. Klain worked as Biden's White House chief of staff from January 2021 until February 2023; he also worked as the Democrat 's chief of staff when he was vice president. The ex-chief of staff is the sixth former Biden aide to testify in the probe. He did arrive to his meeting with lawmakers voluntarily - one of three of the ex-staffers to do so. Biden's senior advisors Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, along with ex-White House doctor Kevin O'Connor, were all forced to testify after being subpoenaed . All three of them pleaded their pleaded the fifth amendment protections in recent weeks. Comer has released some video of their testimony where they repeat the same legal jargon when asked questions about the 82-year-old former president. Peppered with questions from the press when walking into the meeting, Klain, flanked with staffers, did not answer. On the other hand, he was cooperative and spoke cordially with the panel, lawmakers exiting the session told reporters. 'He answered every single question,' Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna of California told reporters. 'He was fully cooperative.' 'Unlike the other Biden officials the committee has deposed, Klain is not asserting any executive privilege or invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination,' Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs wrote on X after exiting the room. 'He is answering the Committee's questions accordingly.' But there's still more to be uncovered, the Arizona Republican added, including questions stemming from a recent Hunter Biden interview about whether his father was given sleeping medication by his staff before his June 2024 debate with Trump. 'I still have many unanswered questions regarding who was running the country and Joe Biden's mental and physical acuity, especially in light of Hunter Biden's revelation that his father was being drugged with Ambien,' Biggs wrote. A source familiar with the interview told the Daily Mail that Klain was unaware whether Biden took Ambien the evening before the June 2024 presidential debate. But Klain did say that 'the president appeared tired and ill before the debate.' 'Mr. Klain stated President Biden's memory got worse,' over the course of his presidency, the source said, adding the former chief of staff admitted that 'Biden was less energetic and more forgetful but he still had the acuity to govern.' Klain told lawmakers how Hillary Clinton and Biden's former National Security Advisor told him that the president was not 'politically viable' in 2024, the source said. 'Sullivan told Klain that Joe Biden was less effective in 2024 compared to 2022.' The last Biden aide to sit for questioning, Tomasini, invoked her right to remain silent and avoid incrimination during her closed-door interview with the Republican-led committee last Friday. Tomasini's interview lasted less than an hour and videos show she did not answer any reporter questions on her way in or out of the private session. Footage of the transcribed interview published by Comer showed Tomanisi repeatedly invoking her right to remain silent. Comer has called the cover-up a 'historic scandal.' Earlier this month, the Kentucky congressman accused Dr. O'Connor of a conspiracy to 'cover up' Biden's cognitive decline . O'Connor cited provider-patient privilege as his reason for pleading the fifth. His lawyer, ahead of his testimony, expressed concern about what O'Connor would be able to say without violating doctor-patient confidentiality laws. The physician was in charge of Biden's annual physical and repeatedly deemed Biden fit to hold office. Republicans charge the former president's inner circle engaged in a conspiracy to hide cognitive decline, which eventually forced him out of his 2024 re-election bid.
Fox News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Hillary Clinton sounded alarm on Biden's political viability 'by 2024,' Klain told House investigators
Ex-President Joe Biden's former chief of staff Ron Klain told House investigators that Hillary Clinton approached him with concerns about the octogenarian leader's political viability "by 2024," Fox News Digital has learned. Klain spoke with staff on the House Oversight Committee for over five hours on Thursday, as Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., continues to probe whether top Biden aides concealed signs of mental decline in the ex-president. A source familiar with his voluntary interview told Fox News Digital that Klain believed Biden was mentally sharp enough to serve as president, and was not too old to run. But the ex-secretary of state and former Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan both "approached Ron Klain stating they believed Joe Biden was not politically viable" months before he dropped his re-election bid in July 2024, the source said. Sullivan told Klain that Biden "was less effective in 2024 compared to 2022," the source said. It's not immediately clear if Biden's mental acuity was the reasoning for their doubts, nor if they made the case to Klain together or separately. But it's a significant indictment coming from top national Democrats of Biden in general, long before concerns about his fitness for office within the party were made public knowledge. Sullivan had been a top aide to both Biden and Clinton, having served as the latter's senior policy advisor during her 2016 campaign. Klain, who served as White House chief of staff for the first half of Biden's term, conceded that the then-president was less energetic and more forgetful, though he defended his "acuity to govern," the source said. "Mr. Klain stated that President Biden often confused names and proper nouns, and it got worse over time," the source said. Fox News Digital was told that Klain also said there was no reason to doubt President Donald Trump's own mental fitness. Klain said nothing to reporters when going in or out of the committee room Thursday. He's the sixth former Biden administration aide to appear for Comer's probe. And despite the interview being largely staff-led, Comer did make an appearance for the early half of the sit-down, and Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., were both briefly there as well. Both Biggs and Khanna called Klain "credible" from what they saw inside the room. "I think he is telling what he knows accurately," Biggs told Fox News Digital. On the other side of the aisle, Khanna told reporters, "He answered every single question. He was fully cooperative." Three other former Biden White House aides who previously appeared – Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and ex-White House doctor Kevin O'Connor – all appeared under subpoena and pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions. Longtime Biden aide Ashley Williams and ex-staff secretary Neera Tanden, like Klain, came for voluntary transcribed interviews. Jeff Zients, who served as Biden's chief of staff for the final two years, was also asked to sit for a transcribed interview, a committee aide previously told Fox News Digital. A source familiar with the Biden team's thinking previously called Republicans' probe "dangerous" and "an attempt to smear and embarrass." "And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump's DOJ prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge," that source said. When reached for comment, Adrienne Watson, a representative for Sullivan, told Fox News Digital, "Jake did not have a conversation with Ron about Joe Biden running for president before the debate." Fox News Digital also reached out to Klain's attorney as well as a contact for comment for Clinton but did not hear back by press time.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Former Biden aide dishes on ex-president's health after others scurry to avoid legacy-tarnishing revelations
Joe Biden 's former chief of staff appeared before congressional investigators to testify in the House Republican's inquiry into the former president's cognitive state. Ron Klain, 63, appeared on Capitol Hill Thursday morning for a transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee. Committee chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has been investigating whether former Biden officials intentionally hid signs of the president's decline. He is also probing the aide's use of the autopen, an instrument used to sign official documents, like letters, executive actions and possibly even legislation. The committee seeks to uncover whether orders were signed without the commander-in-chief's full knowledge. Klain worked as Biden's White House chief of staff from January 2021 until February 2023; he also worked as the Democrat 's chief of staff when he was vice president. The ex-chief of staff is the sixth former Biden aide to testify in the probe. He did arrive to his meeting with lawmakers voluntarily - one of three of the ex-staffers to do so. Biden's senior advisors Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, along with ex-White House doctor Kevin O'Connor, were all forced to testify after being subpoenaed. All three of them pleaded their pleaded the fifth amendment protections in recent weeks. Comer has released some video of their testimony where they repeat the same legal jargon when asked questions about the 82-year-old former president. Peppered with questions from the press when walking into the meeting, Klain, flanked with staffers, did not answer. On the other hand, he was cooperative and spoke cordially with the panel, lawmakers exiting the session told reporters. 'He answered every single question,' Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna of California told reporters. 'He was fully cooperative.' 'Unlike the other Biden officials the committee has deposed, Klain is not asserting any executive privilege or invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination,' Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs wrote on X after exiting the room. 'He is answering the Committee's questions accordingly.' But there's still more to be uncovered, the Arizona Republican added, including questions stemming from a recent Hunter Biden interview about whether his father was given sleeping medication by his staff before his June 2024 debate with Trump. 'I still have many unanswered questions regarding who was running the country and Joe Biden's mental and physical acuity, especially in light of Hunter Biden's revelation that his father was being drugged with Ambien,' Biggs wrote. The last Biden aide to sit for questioning, Tomasini, invoked her right to remain silent and avoid incrimination during her closed-door interview with the Republican-led committee last Friday. Tomasini's interview lasted less than an hour and videos show she did not answer any reporter questions on her way in or out of the private session. A video of the transcribed interview published by Comer showed Tomanisi repeatedly invoking her right to remain silent. Comer has called the cover-up a 'historic scandal.' Earlier this month, the Kentucky congressman accused Dr. O'Connor of a conspiracy to 'cover up' Biden's cognitive decline. O'Connor cited provider-patient privilege as his reason for pleading the fifth. His lawyer, ahead of his testimony, expressed concern about what O'Connor would be able to say without violating doctor-patient confidentiality laws. The physician was in charge of Biden's annual physical and repeatedly deemed Biden fit to hold office.
New York Post
17-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
House Republicans to question ex-Biden chief of staff about alleged mental decline cover-up after stunning revelation
WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee will bring in four more ex-White House aides for questioning about the alleged cover-up of former President Joe Biden's mental decline — including the 46th president's last chief of staff, Jeff Zients, who was recently revealed to have approved last-minute pardons. Zients, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, former deputy press secretary Andrew Bates and former White House Counsel's Office senior adviser Ian Sams have all been asked to sit for transcribed interviews, according to a committee aide. Last-day clemencies, which included preemptive pardons for Biden family members, had been authorized by Zients in a Jan. 19, 2025, email, hours before the 46th president would leave the White House. Advertisement 3 Jeff Zients is among those that will be questioned about the alleged cover-up of former President Joe Biden's mental decline, AP 'I approve the use of the autopen for the execution of all of the following pardons,' Zients wrote in the missive at 10:31 p.m. that day, according to The New York Times. Biden maintained in an interview with the outlet that he 'made every decision' on 25 warrants for pardons and commutations between last December and January. Advertisement So far, the Oversight panel has interviewed five Biden aides — two of whom took the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer any questions about the purported shielding of the president's diminished mental faculties. 3 Oversight Chairman James Comer said that the probe is uncovering 'a historic scandal.' AP 3 Biden maintained that he 'made every decision' on 25 warrants for pardons and commutations between last December and January. AP Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has declared the probe is uncovering 'a historic scandal' and railed against the decision by Biden's former personal physician Kevin O'Connor and first lady Jill Biden's top aide Anthony Bernal to invoke their right against self-incrimination.
