Former White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients testified Thursday that President Joe Biden’s mental health and decision-making capacity deteriorated so badly during his time in office that he privately requested the 46th president be given a cognitive test.
While no great surprise to observers, Zients testimony under oath offered the most damning evidence to date that Biden’s autopen signatures could be legally overturned.
Zients told House Oversight Committee investigators in a six-hour closed-door session that Biden’s “decision-making slowed” and that policy decisions that would typical require just a few meetings eventually began requiring four meetings.
The former chief of staff admitted Biden began showing “difficulty remembering dates and names” and that his speech stumbles and memory lapses worsened considerably during his presidency.
After Biden’s disastrous June 27, 2024 debate performance against Donald Trump, Zients recommended to White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor that Biden undergo “a full medical workup” including a cognitive exam. O’Connor said he would take the suggestion “under advisement.”
During the debate, Biden stumbled over answers and became visibly confused, including claiming his administration had “finally beat Medicare.”
Following the debate, Zients and other Biden advisers believed the president should exit the race. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan agreed, according to the testimony.
Former communications adviser Anita Dunn and Sullivan also pushed for Biden to undergo cognitive testing after the debate. Cabinet officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, VA Secretary Denis McDonough, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed private concerns about Biden’s mental capacity through a second-term.
Zients confirmed that First Lady Jill Biden spoke with him and promised the president would get more rest and was not overscheduled. That conversation occurred in 2023, according to sources. Jill Biden asked that her husband be allowed to “return to the residence” earlier in the day.
Deputy White House Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini discussed with Zients having staff “limit walking distances and the number of stairs he needed to climb” for Biden.
Zients admitted he openly discussed concerns over Biden’s cognitive issues with other former aides, including Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, Jill Biden’s chief of staff. Both Tomasini and Bernal invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and declined to answer questions during their separate committee interviews.
Dr. O’Connor also declined to answer questions during his July deposition before the committee.
Most damning, Zients also confirmed that Hunter Biden was involved in internal pardon discussions late in Biden’s term, attending “a few meetings.” Hunter Biden received one of the most sweeping pardons in history, covering nearly 11 years of potential crimes.
The testimony contradicts repeated public claims made by the White House during the 2024 campaign. Officials insisted Biden was “sharp,” “engaged,” and “fully capable” of performing his duties despite years of concern.
Rep. James Comer, R-K.Y., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, called Zients’s interview the most important in the panel’s months-long investigation into whether White House aides “usurped authority” from the president in the use of the autopen.
“We believe Zients is the guy that was potentially making a lot of decisions down the stretch,” Comer said. “And had a lot of responsibility with respect to the unauthorized use of the autopen.”
The committee is investigating whether documents including executive orders or pardons were signed using Biden’s name without his full awareness. While using an autopen use is legally permitted, Republicans question whether Biden was aware his name was being signed.
The committee has questioned 14 former Biden aides as part of the investigation. Other witnesses included former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who left the Democratic Party in June and announced a tell-all book describing the Biden administration as “broken.”
Zients is the final witness in the probe. A final committee report is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
“We believe we have a lot of information already from the witnesses who have answered questions,” Comer said Thursday. “They’ve been pretty forthcoming in their answers.”