Ron Klain, who served as former President Biden’s chief of staff, will appear before a House panel investigating Mr. Biden’s fading mental acuity while in the White House and any efforts by aides to cover it up and act on his behalf.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has scheduled interviews with Mr. Klain and half a dozen other Biden staffers this month and in early August.
The Republican-led panel is investigating claims there was a cover-up of Mr. Biden’s cognitive decline and of potentially unauthorized pardons and other executive actions.
The inquiry follows numerous reports, including those outlined in a tell-all book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, that Mr. Biden had faded mentally in the latter half of his presidency and that the duties of the presidency had been commandeered by a “politburo” of top aides.
Republicans also want information about the frequent use of the autopen to sign pardons and executive orders while Mr. Biden was president.
Mr. Klain served as White House chief of staff until Feb. 7, 2023, and is considered by some to have been the most powerful to serve in that role.
He will appear for a closed-door interview with House lawmakers on July 24.
Steve Ricchetti, former counselor to the president under Mr. Biden and Mike Donilon, a top Biden adviser, will also provide interviews to the committee in July.
In August, Biden senior adviser Anita Dunn and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Bruce Reed will also appear, the panel announced Tuesday.
Ashley Williams, who served as Mr. Biden’s deputy director of Oval Office operations, and Annie Thomasini, his former deputy chief of staff, will also appear for interviews in July.
Oversight Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, issued subpoenas for former White House Physician Kevin O’Connor and Anthony Bernal, former assistant to the president and senior advisor to the First Lady, to appear for interviews in July.
In June, the panel interviewed Neera Tanden, who served as staff secretary for part of Mr. Biden’s administration. She was authorized in her role to direct the use of the autopen.
She testified that she had “minimal interaction,” with Mr. Biden regarding the mechanical signature, but said she followed a protocol passed down from previous administrations for receiving approval for its use from Mr. Biden’s top aides.
Mr. Biden in June issued a rare public statement, denying his aides were running or using the autopen to sign important documents without his knowledge.
“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” said Mr. Biden, 82. “I made the decisions about pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
Anonymous sources in the Tapper and Thompson book tell a different story.
“Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board,” one former aide said.
