House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., told Newsmax on Tuesday that no witness from the Biden administration testified that President Joe Biden personally authorized the use of the presidential autopen for pardons, despite the Constitution making clear that only a sitting president can exercise the pardon power.
Comer appeared on "Finnerty," where he said the investigation shows Biden was isolated from decision-making, with staff allegedly carrying out presidential actions in his place.
"This investigation proved what we all seen with our own eyes, that Joe Biden was in a mental decline, that his staff shielded him not just from the American people, but from their inside circle, from the staffers, from the normal staffers that work with the president on a day-to-day basis.
"They went weeks, months, and years without communicating with Joe Biden," he said.
House Oversight released a report Tuesday alleging that Biden's mental decline was covered up and that aides exercised presidential authority during periods when Biden was not present, including the misuse of the autopen.
Comer said there is still no direct confirmation that Biden himself approved pardons or personally authorized the use of the autopen.
"There are no notes. There was no testimony from anyone that we deposed.
"And these are the 12 main people in the Biden administration testifying that Joe Biden himself, they saw Joe Biden in a meeting going over those pardons, and they could say definitively that Joe Biden himself authorized the use of that autopen," Comer noted.
"There were phone calls made. There were emails made, there were whispers in the ears, but no one ever heard from the president himself.
"And the Constitution is clear. The president is the only person that has the authority to pardon ... not unnamed bureaucrats and staffers in the Oval Office."
Comer explained that Dr. Kevin O'Connor became central to the inquiry after raising concerns under oath about Biden's health.
"The very first question that was asked of Dr. O'Connor in that deposition was 'Dr. O'Connor, were you ever told a lie about Joe Biden's health?' And he pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination.
"That had nothing to do with HIPAA, that had nothing to do with doctor-patient privilege."
He stressed that O'Connor had a duty to inform the public, not remain silent.
"He was America's doctor. Dr. O'Connor was the White House physician. He worked for us. It's his role. We paid for his salary.
"He worked for us. He is the White House physician," Comer said.
"And part of their job is keeping the public informed on the health of the President of the United States.
"Did Joe Biden have cancer? Did they cover it up? Did Joe Biden take a cognitive test? Did he fail it? If he didn't take a cognitive test, why not?
"This is so important because of the unauthorized use of the autopen.
"If there was a cover-up, which we believe there was, and I think most Americans, if you polled it, believed there was, then Dr. O'Connor is the most important witness, and he pled the fifth," Comer stated.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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