Two top Biden aides set to testify in probe of Biden mental decline

As part of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee’s escalating probe into the former president’s cognitive deterioration and potential attempts to hide it from the public, two more of Joe Biden’s top White House aides are expected to testify before the panel this week.

Former Biden advisor Steve Ricchetti and former senior adviser Mike Donilon are set to be interviewed by the committee on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The two have indicated that they will willingly sit for them, which is different from some of the other well-known witnesses. The committee has not yet issued subpoenas requiring their appearances as of Tuesday afternoon.

The committee has subpoenaed the appearances of several Biden aides because they have refused to assist with the probe. Then, during the private sessions, they asserted their Fifth Amendment protection against being forced to testify against themselves.

In response to questions from the panel earlier this month, three Biden aides—White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, former presidential assistant and senior adviser to First Lady Anthony Bernal, and former presidential assistant and deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, formerly director of Oval Office Operations—pleaded the fifth.

The US Supreme Court has long seen the right against self-incrimination as a venerable aspect of the Constitution, despite the fact that it may be interpreted by the public as a means of evading accountability. Typically, the Fifth Amendment is invoked to avoid answering certain questions.

Nevertheless, several Biden aides have voluntarily participated in the panel’s interviews. According to a source familiar with the situation who previously spoke to CNN, former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain told the committee last week that national security adviser Jake Sullivan informed him in 2024 following the presidential debate that Biden wasn’t as effective as he once was, and that Hillary Clinton had told him in 2023 that Biden’s age was a problem the campaign hadn’t handled well.

According to a second source, Klain told the committee that he thought Biden had the mental acuity to be president and that he had no reason to question it.

Although a Clinton spokesperson did not refute Klain’s story, he stated that Clinton was worried about the political handling of the Biden age issue given the assaults and inquiries he was receiving.

Similar to Klain, Ashley Williams, a former special assistant to the president and deputy director of Oval Office Operations, and Neera Tanden, the former White House Director of the Domestic Policy Council, participated in transcribed interviews.

Williams told the committee she thinks Biden was in control the night of the debate and was qualified to be president, including at this time, according to a source familiar with her interview.

In response to a number of questions during her five-hour interview, including whether teleprompters were used for Cabinet meetings, whether Biden using a wheelchair or undergoing a cognitive test was discussed, whether she mentioned Biden’s physical or mental decline, whether she ever had to wake Biden up, and how she became involved in his 2020 campaign, the source said Williams frequently said she “did not recall.” According to the insider, Williams denied that having a strong memory was a necessary quality for a position at the White House.

An attorney representing Williams did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.

Next week, the committee is anticipated to transcribe interviews with other high-level staffers, such as those with former senior advisor to the president for communications Anita Dunn on Thursday and former deputy chief of staff for policy Bruce Reed on Tuesday.

In the upcoming months, additional former aides are anticipated to testify, including former chief of staff Jeff Zients on September 18, former special assistant to the president and senior adviser in the White House Counsel’s Office Ian Sams on August 21, former deputy assistant to the president and senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates on September 5, and former senior deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on September 12.

This report was contributed to by Arlette Saenz.