**What Did Joe Biden Know, and When Did His Staff Know It?**
WASHINGTON — What did former President Joe Biden not know, and when did his staff become aware of it? This question is set to haunt the former president and his inner circle for years to come, as tell-all books and reports from Hill Republicans reveal a narrative of Biden’s mental decline—one that a tight-knit group of top aides allegedly sought to conceal from the public.
**“The Gang That Couldn’t Spin Straight”**
In fact, the report might better be titled “The Gang That Couldn’t Spin Straight.” Having read government reports on corrupt behavior that often make for intricate drama, the so-called autopen report instead reads like comedy gold. It calls to mind Mel Brooks’ classic *The Producers*—a fitting comparison, since Team Biden turned to Hollywood giants Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg for coaching ahead of the 2024 State of the Union address. With their script and advice, Biden delivered a star-like performance. But the bar was low.
Recall Biden’s winning moment during the 2020 debate against then-President Donald Trump: his now-famous line, “Will you shut up, man?”
**A Cognitive Test That Never Happened**
According to the report, White House physician Kevin O’Connor failed to order a cognitive test for the president—a choice described as screaming, “We don’t want to know.” Former senior adviser Anita Dunn raised the issue of whether Biden should undergo such a test—the one that could have assured the American people of the president’s mental fitness. Yet, it never took place.
They knew. They just didn’t want you to know.
**Inner Circle Discussions and Controversies**
The tell-all book *Original Sin* by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson reveals that Biden’s inner circle even discussed having him use a wheelchair to prevent falls—though they reportedly decided this could not happen before the election.
When the committee questioned O’Connor, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as did Biden’s deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and first lady Jill Biden’s chief of staff Anthony Bernal.
One particularly thorny subject the report explored was Biden’s use of presidential pardon power. The findings were controversial: Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who had faced tax fraud and gun charges, after having pledged not to do so. In addition, pardons were granted to family members who had never been charged with any crimes.
The committee estimated that 96 percent of Biden’s pardons were issued during his last four months in office.
**Legal Context on Pardons**
“Presidents cannot undo the pardons of their predecessors. If they could, even long-settled pardons could be vulnerable to challenge,” Jeffrey Crouch, an associate professor of American history at American University, explained.
**Containing the Story of Biden’s Decline**
Dunn and others managed to contain the narrative of Biden’s mental decline—a decline that awaits all of us—by enclosing him inside a small bubble within the infamous White House bubble.
Communications aide Ian Sams was put in charge of responding to media questions about Biden’s health and fitness for office. Yet, Sams told the committee that his meetings with the president were “very infrequent”—numbering just four.
Sams also handled the fallout from special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into allegations that Biden habitually mishandled classified information. During conversations with Biden, Hur observed the president forgetting key personal details, such as when his son Beau passed away and when Biden’s vice presidency had ended.
Hur found that Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.” Nevertheless, Hur did not file charges because of the difficulties in prosecuting “a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Former White House staff secretary Neera Tanden said she saw the president only every six to eight weeks.
**Why Did Aides Cover Up?**
Why did top White House aides attempt to hide Biden’s declining capacity? Presumably, they faced a choice between holding onto power and letting go. Unlike George Washington, no figure in this “swamp” seemed willing to put country over office.
Initially, they may have believed only Biden—an experienced hand—could defeat Trump, which he did in 2020. But over time, that purportedly steady hand presided over chaos at the border, a botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the embrace of “gender-affirming care” for minors.
**A Stark Admission**
One memorable line comes from senior Biden adviser Ashley Williams, who offered a candid assessment: “I wouldn’t characterize having a good memory as something that is important in the White House.”
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https://spectator.org/autopen-joe-and-the-gang-that-couldnt-spin-straight/
