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4w ago

Steve Ricchetti Defends Biden’s Fitness in Marathon Oversight Testimony

It came ahead of Mike Donilon’s scheduled appearance with more closed-door interviews planned to assess whether aides usurped presidential duties.

Steve Ricchetti, left, who served as counselor to former President Joe Biden, arrives to a House Oversight and Accountability Committee interview about Biden's mental fitness while in office on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
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Anthony Bernal, a former senior aide to former first lady Jill Biden, arrives for a deposition under subpoena from Republicans on the House Oversight Committee investigating former President Joe Biden's mental fitness while in office, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - President Joe Biden walks after speaking during an interfaith prayer service in New Orleans, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Overview

  • Ricchetti sat for a voluntary, eight-hour closed-door session before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee and said President Biden was fully capable of exercising his duties with no staff member usurping his authority.
  • Three senior Biden aides—Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini—have invoked the Fifth Amendment after being subpoenaed to testify in the probe.
  • Lawmakers are examining whether Biden’s autopen device was used by staff to sign executive actions without his direct approval.
  • Former senior adviser Mike Donilon is slated to testify next, and additional interviews with top White House veterans are scheduled through September.
  • Oversight Chairman James Comer has indicated that the investigation’s findings could drive new congressional measures on presidential fitness and executive oversight.