Former White House senior adviser Mike Donilon, a decadeslong aide to former President Joe Biden, told a House panel on Thursday that congressional Democrats overreacted to the 2024 debate that led to Biden withdrawing his reelection bid weeks later.
Donilon said as much Thursday during a transcribed interview before the House Oversight Committee, a source familiar with Donilon's testimony told Newsmax. It was also revealed that Donilon stood to earn $8 million if Biden were reelected.
Donilon, who has worked with Biden in some fashion since 1981, agreed to the interview with the panel, which is investigating Biden's use of the autopen in pardons.
Donilon, the eighth former Biden aide to sit for an interview, told the committee that he had no knowledge of the autopen and did not know what it was used for, according to the source.
Donilon did, however, tell lawmakers it was his belief that pundits and congressional Democrats overreacted to Biden's debate performance against President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, adding that the former president's communication skills got stronger throughout his four years in office, the source said.
Instead, Donilon said, Biden's presence wasn't as commanding and he could stumble over more words. Donilon said he was frustrated and knew it was difficult to get past the visuals of Biden that people were seeing, the source said.
It was reported in the book "Original Sin" that Biden insisted Donilon get paid $4 million to work on his reelection campaign. On Thursday, it came out during testimony that Donilon was set to earn another $4 million if Biden had been reelected, according to the source.
The source said the revelation raised concerns about Donilon's self-interest in pushing Biden to continue his campaign while dismissing concerns about Biden's cognitive state in the aftermath of the debate.
Comer in May launched the investigation into Biden's use of the autopen to sign official documents, including the pardons, bringing into question whether Biden actually signed the documents and if so, whether he was aware what he was signing.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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