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51m ago

Zients Tells House Investigators Biden’s Decision-Making Slowed as Panel Concludes Interviews

The GOP-led committee now prepares a final report on autopen use, centering on whether actions reflected Biden’s informed assent.

FILE - White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients speaks during a press briefing at the White House, April 13, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the White House Build America Investment Initiative roundtable, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. From left are, then-Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Biden, then-National Economic Council Director Jeff Zients, and then-Senior Policy Adviser at the National Economic Jake Broder-Fingert. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Secretary of State Antony Blinken, front, and Jeff Zients, White House coronavirus response coordinator, right, listen as President Joe Biden speaks about his administration's global COVID-19 vaccination efforts ahead of the G-7 summit, Thursday, June 10, 2021, in St. Ives, England. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
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Overview

  • In a closed-door interview, former chief of staff Jeff Zients said Biden increasingly needed additional meetings to decide issues and had growing difficulty recalling names and dates.
  • Zients testified he urged White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor to conduct a full medical workup, including a cognitive exam, after the June 2024 debate, and O’Connor said he would take the suggestion under advisement.
  • Zients told investigators that Hunter Biden participated in late-term pardon discussions and attended some meetings, while emphasizing that the president made final decisions.
  • Investigators have internal emails indicating Justice Department concerns about how autopen-signed clemencies were administered, even as a 2005 DOJ memo affirms autopen use is lawful if authorized by the president.
  • With Zients’ appearance, interviews of former senior aides are complete after some witnesses invoked the Fifth Amendment, and the House Oversight Committee plans to issue its findings in the coming weeks.