The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has released a staff report titled “The Biden Autopen Presidency: Decline, Delusion, and Deception in the White House.” The report alleges that President Joe Biden’s advisors, political operatives, and personal physician concealed the president’s mental and physical decline from the public. According to the committee, as Biden’s condition worsened, aides exercised presidential authority and facilitated executive actions without his direct authorization. This included use of an autopen for signing documents and insufficient documentation of decision-making processes.
Following these findings, Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting that the Department of Justice review all executive actions taken during Biden’s presidency. Comer also asked for scrutiny of key aides—Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Annie Tomasini, and Anthony Bernal—who invoked their Fifth Amendment rights during the investigation. Additionally, Comer sent a letter to the District of Columbia Board of Medicine seeking review of Dr. O’Connor’s actions as White House physician.
“The Biden Autopen Presidency will go down as one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history. As Americans saw President Biden’s decline with their own eyes, Biden’s inner circle sought to deceive the public, cover-up his decline, and took unauthorized executive actions with the autopen that are now invalid,” said Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.). “Our report reveals how key aides colluded to mislead the public and the extraordinary measures they took to sustain the appearance of presidential authority as Biden’s capacity to function independently diminished. Executive actions performed by Biden White House staff and signed by autopen are null and void. We are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a thorough review of these executive actions and scrutinize key Biden aides who took the Fifth to hide their participation in the cover-up. The D.C. Board of Medicine must also review the actions taken by President Biden’s physician to hide his true condition. We have provided Americans with transparency about the Biden Autopen Presidency, and now there must be accountability.”
The committee based its findings on 14 depositions and transcribed interviews with key former White House staff members. According to Republicans on the committee, Democratic members did not prioritize investigating who was exercising presidential authority during this period; Democrats reportedly spent only about 3 hours and 30 minutes questioning witnesses over nearly 47 hours.
Key points from the report include evidence suggesting senior officials worked together to conceal President Biden's cognitive state through scripted messaging and restricted access; allegations that political advisors interfered in medical decisions related to cognitive testing; concerns over financial conflicts involving Dr. O’Connor; irregularities in documentation regarding executive decisions; instances where pardons or commutations were issued without clear authorization; and recommendations for further reviews by both federal authorities and medical oversight bodies.
Chairman Comer is calling for comprehensive reviews by both DOJ regarding all executive actions taken during this period as well as further examination into Dr. O’Connor's role by local medical authorities.
Transcripts from depositions with various former administration officials—including Neera Tanden, Ronald Klain, Michael Donilon, Anita Dunn, Karine Jean-Pierre among others—are available alongside videos documenting these proceedings.
