House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is widening his investigation into the alleged ‘cover-up’ of former President Joe Biden’s mental decline by seeking interviews with five more former White House aides.
Comer sent letters to five more top former Biden staffers, putting his total outreach in the investigation to 10 people so far.
The latest round of letters are being sent to former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, former senior communications advisor Anita Dunn, former top advisors Michael Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Bruce Reed.
‘The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the role of former senior White House officials in possibly usurping authority from former President Joe Biden and the ramifications of a White House staff intent on hiding his rapidly worsening mental and physical faculties,’ Comer wrote to the five former aides.
‘The Committee has been investigating this issue for nearly a year. The Committee seeks to understand who made key decisions and exercised the powers of the executive branch during the previous administration, possibly without former President Biden’s consent. The Committee requests your testimony to evaluate your eye-witness account of former President Biden’s decline.’
Each letter also detailed specific reasons the committee is seeking to speak to each person.
‘You served as Chief of Staff for former President Biden. Before departing the White House in 2023, you had been by former President Biden’s side ‘for more than three decades.’ You returned to the former president’s side in 2024 to aid his campaign and prepare him for the June 27, 2024, debate with President Donald Trump,’ the letter to Klain read, citing a recent Politico article.
‘According to an interview, you cut short the debate prep ‘due to the president’s fatigue and lack of familiarity with the subject matter’ and said that the former president ‘didn’t really understand what his argument was on inflation.’ The scope of your responsibilities—both official and otherwise—and personal interactions within the Oval Office cannot go without investigation.’
To Dunn, Comer wrote, ‘Former President Biden confided in you extensively over the past decade. The Committee seeks to understand your observations of former President Biden’s mental acuity and health as one of his closest advisors.
‘If White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive’s condition—or to perform his duties—Congress may need to consider a legislative response,’ the letter said.
Comer has asked each of the five aides to appear for closed-door transcribed interviews.
He told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that it was a more effective investigation tactic than a public hearing that could easily devolve into an unproductive spectacle.
‘You’ve got one hour, you’re not interrupted, you don’t have to go five minutes back and forth,’ Comer said. ‘So to extract information, we’re going to go with the interviews.’
Comer previously reached out to former Biden doctor Kevin O’Connor and former White House aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, Ashley Williams and Neera Tanden to appear.
The committee said it expects the witnesses to voluntarily comply with the investigation and will release transcribed interview dates later this week. Comer has not ruled out the threat of subpoenas, however, if talks go awry.
