The House Oversight Committee is nearing completion of its investigation into former President Joe Biden’s inner circle and his use of the autopen during his presidency.
The committee has been moving quickly through the investigation, conducting 12 interviews thus far, with two more on the books, as it looks into whether Biden’s inner circle hid his alleged mental decline from the public by exercising presidential power in his name without his full understanding or consent.
Of the 12 interviews that took place, three witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment rights, and the other nine participated in the transcribed interviews. Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, was the first to invoke the Fifth, citing patient-client confidentiality.
“The House Oversight Committee has uncovered how the Biden Autopen Presidency ranks among the greatest scandals in U.S. history,” Comer said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “As President Biden declined, his staff abused the autopen to carry out unauthorized executive actions. We are concluding interviews with key Biden aides and will soon report our findings to the American people.”
Each transcribed interview has been closed-door and conducted over several hours by the majority and minority committee staff. The transcripts are slated to be made public once all the interviews have concluded, but footage of those who invoked their Fifth Amendment rights was released the evening after they concluded.
The next slated interview, with former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, is on Friday.
The committee expanded the investigation after the release of Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book, Original Sin. Comer has questioned the former president’s use of the autopen for pardons and executive orders and whether his aides covered up his cognitive decline.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN 50TH BIRTHDAY BOOK WITH TRUMP NOTE TURNED OVER TO HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
The White House has been conducting its own investigation into Biden’s alleged health cover-up. Memos unearthed from Biden’s term show his aides wanted the president to personally sign pardon decisions and advised against using the autopen on clemency decisions. Biden’s autopen signature was used to issue major clemency orders in the final two months of his term that affected more than 4,000 individuals, including drug offenders and those placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the final frenzy of the pardon push, aides were concerned that Biden had not fully approved the lists. In one instance, the Trump administration says a Biden staffer impersonated then-chief of staff Jeff Zients to approve the use of an autopen to pardon several of the former president’s family members. Zients is expected to testify later this month before the House Oversight Committee.
“This is a historic scandal with massive repercussions. As President Biden declined, his aides carried out executive actions without his approval, casting doubt on the legitimacy of thousands of pardons and other executive actions,” Comer previously said. “The House Oversight Committee is in the final stages of its investigation. There must be accountability for this scandal.”
Trump waived executive privilege earlier this year for all of the former aides in the investigation. Executive privilege allows the witness to withhold information from Congress to protect the integrity of the executive branch.
