Steve Ricchetti, who served as counselor to former President Joe Biden, appeared before a House committee Wednesday regarding the investigation into the former president’s mental and physical fitness.
Ricchetti testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He reportedly used the transcribed interview to refute Republicans’ assertion that Biden wasn’t in full control of his mental capabilities during his presidency.
Ricchetti defended the former president in a prepared statement obtained by The Hill, claiming he had complete faith in Biden.
“Let me be clear: At all times during his presidency, I believed that President Biden was fully capable of exercising his Presidential duties and responsibilities, and that he did so,” Ricchetti stated. “Neither I, nor anyone else, usurped President Biden’s constitutional duties, which he faithfully and fully carried out each and every day.”
Ricchetti tried to quash accusations of any conspiracies surrounding Biden’s presidency, nor an attempt to hide the former president’s “mental condition from the American people.”
He added, possibly alluding to concerns over the usage of the autopen and pardons, that he was “not aware of any effort by any member of the White House staff to usurp the President’s authority to make decisions or to sign important documents without his knowledge.”
However, Ricchetti acknowledged the former president did have his moments, but brushed them off, reiterating his confidence in Biden.
“Did he stumble? Occasionally. Make mistakes? Get up on the wrong side of the bed? He did – we all did. But I always believed – every day – that he had the capability, character, and judgment to be president of the United States,” Ricchetti added.
Ricchetti’s transcribed interview marks the second witness in less than a week to voluntarily appear before the committee.
Ron Klain, who served as former President Joe Biden’s chief of staff during the first half of Biden’s presidency, testified during a marathon hearing last Thursday.
Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told Newsmax that Klain answered every question, admitting that Biden’s “memory had deteriorated a little bit” and “wasn’t as sharp” in the lead-up to the former president dropping out of the race for reelection. However, Comer added that Klain told the committee that he believed Biden was still competent to lead – echoing Ricchetti’s statements.
Previous witnesses who have been subpoenaed include Annie Tomasini, who served as an assistant to the former president and deputy director of Oval Office Operations, former First Lady Jill Biden’s chief of staff, Anthony Bernal, and Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician. They all pleaded their Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination and refused to answer questions.
Comer claims those witnesses show “a pattern … seeking to shield themselves from criminal liability.”
Questions regarding Biden’s mental fitness were raised well before the 2020 presidential election. Republicans and many in the conservative media continued to raise questions regarding the former president’s health throughout his presidency.
However, the White House claimed Biden received regular medical exams, showing a healthy, competent president.
The House committee announced in early June that it was expanding its investigation into the “cover-up” of Biden’s “mental decline.”
Comer sent letters to five former senior Biden White House aides, “demanding they appear for transcribed interviews.” Comer’s committee is investigating “potentially unauthorized issuance of sweeping pardons and other executive action.”
The investigations have been fueled in part by a book written by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, “Original Sin,” which the congressman quoted as claiming, “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.”
Karine Jean-Pierre, who served as Biden’s press secretary; Ian Sams, former assistant to the president and senior advisor in the White House Counsel’s Office; Andrew Bates, former deputy assistant to the president and senior deputy press secretary; and Jeff Zients, Biden’s former chief of staff, have also been called to testify in front of the committee.
Mike Donilon, former senior advisor to Biden, is scheduled to sit down with the committee Thursday.
