While Hunter Biden’s viral three-hourlong interview on YouTube last week came across as an “entitled rant” to even MSNBC, the son of former President Joe Biden added a valuable piece in the puzzle about his father’s mental decline while in office.
According to Hunter Biden, Joe Biden was given Ambien, a sedative used to treat insomnia, before the 2024 presidential debate with Donald Trump that ultimately led to his bowing out of the race.
“He’s tired,” Hunter Biden said. “They give him Ambien to be able to sleep, and he gets up on the stage and looks like a deer in the headlights.”
But questions surrounding Joe Biden’s mental acuity go well beyond his son’s musings. Now, Congress is investigating the Biden White House’s use of the autopen in signing official documents, which some argue renders certain autopen-signed documents void.
The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is investigating both the use of the autopen and Joe Biden’s mental decline. Ron Klain, a former White House chief of staff for the then-president, testified before the committee Thursday behind closed doors.
The Daily Signal reported that Klain told the committee Joe Biden was “less energetic” and “more forgetful” in 2024 but maintained enough “mental fitness” for the job.
Klain was unaware that Biden had taken Ambien before the debate, although he noted the president seemed “tired and ill,” according to source familiar with the matter.
Klain’s hearing followed three testimonies from other Biden aides, including a former White House physician and a former aide to first lady Jill Biden. All three aides pled the Fifth Amendment when questioned about Biden’s mental fitness, his medical history, or the White House’s frequent use of the autopen.
Mike Howell, president of the watchdog the Oversight Project (not affiliated with the House Oversight Committee), told The Daily Signal, “I’m not surprised Biden officials are claiming the Fifth.? As we’ve long said, this is a crime scene.”
Research from the Oversight Project found that the use of the autopen skyrocketed during Biden’s term in office. In 2021, no executive orders were signed by the autopen. By 2024, that number rose to 73.68%. By 2025, it was 100%.
Most of those signings occurred while Biden was physically present in Washington, D.C. Additionally, in many instances, the autopen was used the same day Biden himself signed an executive order, according to the Oversight Project.
But the question still remains for investigators: Who was actually running the country if Biden wasn’t?
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told The Daily Signal, “It’s beyond troubling that the sitting president of the United States was not cognitively present during portions of his term. We must identify who was pulling the strings in the White House and reveal which actions were taken without the president’s knowledge or consent.”
The House Oversight Committee is set to hold four more hearings in the next weeks of top personnel from the Biden White House. The committee has also requested interviews with former Biden communication aides Karine Jean-Pierre, Andrew Bates, Ian Sams, and former chief of staff Jeff Zients, according to the Washington Examiner.
Howell said, “The Trump administration should actually charge someone for crimes committed or undo the illegitimate actions [done with the autopen]. We need to see some more action.”
White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields warned on a Fox News interview, “James Comer isn’t playing around. … These people are going to be held accountable.”
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