A former top adviser to Joe Biden testified Wednesday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee regarding the ex-president's use of the autopen.
Steve Ricchetti, Biden's former deputy chief, testified behind closed doors before the Oversight Committee, which is investigating the alleged cover-up of Biden's mental decline while in office and potentially unauthorized use of autopen for sweeping pardons and other executive actions.
Ricchetti, who served closely under Biden since 2012 and previously served in the Clinton administration, entered the Rayburn House office building at 9:41 a.m. EDT, the Washington Examiner reported.
He did not take questions from reporters.
Another member of Biden's inner circle, Mike Donilon, is set to appear before the panel Thursday.
"Today: Steve Ricchetti
"Tomorrow: Mike Donilon
"Two more of Biden's closest aides are lawyered up and sitting down with us for transcribed interviews as our probe into his mental fitness moves forward," the Oversight Committee posted Wednesday morning on X.
"The cover-up isn't holding."
Ricchetti, Donilon, and policy expert Bruce Reed were Biden's closest advisers and essentially ran the White House, according to the authors of the book "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again."
Ron Klain, former White House chief of staff and one of Biden's closest confidants, testified Thursday behind closed doors before the committee. According to a source familiar with the closed proceedings who spoke to Newsmax's Kilmeny Duchardt, Klain offered candid assessments of the former president's mental and physical condition, while defending his overall ability to lead while in office.
Annie Tomasini, a former assistant to the president and deputy director of Oval Office operations, on July 18 followed Anthony Bernal, a former senior aide to Jill Biden, in invoking the Fifth Amendment to decline to answer questions.
Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, also took the Fifth Amendment when he appeared for his deposition. Former aides Neera Tanden and Ashley Williams joined Klain in having participated in transcribed interviews.
Joe Biden told The New York Times recently that he made "every decision" regarding all the pardons and commutations issued at the end of his term.
Ricchetti's sons Daniel Ricchetti (State Department) and J.J. Ricchetti (Treasury Department), and daughter Shannon Ricchetti (White House) also served in the Biden administration.
President Donald Trump waived executive privilege last month for all of Biden's former aides in the investigation, the Examiner reported.
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