On a brisk Friday morning, September 12, 2025, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre strode into the O’Neill House Office Building, her expression unreadable as she bypassed a throng of reporters. It was her turn in the hot seat: the House Oversight Committee had summoned her to testify about the Biden administration’s alleged cover-up of President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and the controversial use of the executive autopen during his final days in office. Jean-Pierre’s testimony marked a pivotal moment in a months-long probe that has gripped Washington and reignited partisan debate about presidential transparency, executive power, and the inner workings of an embattled White House.
Jean-Pierre, who served as press secretary from 2022 until the administration’s end in January 2025, is no longer a Democrat. In June, she publicly broke with the party, announcing she was becoming an independent and penning a tell-all book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, set for release this October. According to the New York Post, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters, “We intentionally wanted Jean-Pierre to be one of the last people we bring in. We believe that she’s written some things in the book that are gonna be of interest to our entire investigation.”
The committee’s inquiry has grown into a sprawling investigation, encompassing not just the president’s health but also the alleged abuse of a mechanical signature device—the autopen—which was reportedly used to sign thousands of pardons, including some for Biden family members, in the waning hours of the administration. Comer emphasized the breadth and gravity of the probe, telling reporters, “This is a serious investigation about the legality of the use of the autopen, the excessive use of the autopen, and whether or not Joe Biden had any idea who was using the autopen, and what the autopen was used to sign with respect to legal documents.”
Jean-Pierre’s appearance was notable not only for her proximity to the president—she was, as the committee’s letter put it, “alongside the ranks of the president’s top confidantes like senior advisers Mike Donilon, Steve Richetti and Bruce Reed”—but also for her role as the administration’s chief defender during a period of mounting speculation about Biden’s mental fitness. Throughout her tenure, Jean-Pierre had consistently rebuffed claims of cognitive decline, brushing off viral videos of Biden appearing disoriented as “cheap fakes” and lashing out at media coverage she deemed unfair. “That is not my assessment, that is the assessment of the president’s doctor, that is also the assessment of his neurologist,” she told reporters in February 2024. “He passes a cognitive test every day—every day—as he moves from one topic to another topic, understanding the granular level of these topics.”
The scrutiny intensified after Biden’s lackluster debate performance against then-candidate (now President) Donald Trump in 2024. Jean-Pierre acknowledged at the time that Biden “did not have a great night” but attributed his faltering to a cold, insisting, “He was not taking any cold medication,” and denying he was on anything that could have impaired him. Still, rumors swirled. Hunter Biden, the president’s son, told a Channel 5 YouTube podcast that his father was given Ambien to help him sleep. And when news broke in July 2024 that a Parkinson’s disease specialist, Dr. Kevin Cannard, had visited the White House several times, Jean-Pierre was pressed by reporters about whether Biden was being treated for Parkinson’s. Her response was unequivocal: “Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No.”
Yet questions lingered. Biden’s personal physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who had released only brief annual physical reports and never fielded questions from the press, pleaded the Fifth Amendment during his own appearance before the committee in July 2025. According to Reuters, none of Biden’s physicals included neuro-cognitive tests or the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a standard screening tool for dementia. And just days before Biden abandoned his reelection campaign, O’Connor described the president’s mental fitness as “excellent” in his only media interview to date.
The use of the autopen—a device that has, in fairness, been employed by multiple presidents for routine correspondence—became a flashpoint in the investigation. According to the Washington Examiner, emails and documents revealed that Biden’s senior staff initially recommended he personally sign presidential clemency actions. Near the end of his term, however, that recommendation was set aside, and the autopen was used to sign a wave of executive actions and pardons. Comer told reporters, “There are inconsistencies with what people have testified to us in these depositions and what we are seeing from these emails as far as the process that the Biden administration used for the autopen.” He added, “Even the Merrick Garland Department of Justice was very concerned about how this administration was using the autopen.”
Other senior Biden officials have also been called to testify. Mike Donilon, a longtime Biden adviser, disclosed to investigators that he was paid $4 million for his work on Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign, with another $4 million promised had Biden won. Donilon, however, claimed ignorance regarding the administration’s use of the autopen. Steve Richetti and Bruce Reed, also close advisers, have appeared before the committee, with former chief of staff Jeff Zients scheduled for September 18.
The political stakes are high. Republicans argue that the investigation exposes a pattern of deception and misuse of executive authority, with Comer stating that memos “reveal President Biden neither approved—nor may have even been consulted on—thousands of pardons.” According to Reuters, Comer maintained that the committee’s report on its findings is “imminent.” Meanwhile, Democrats and former administration allies have dismissed the hearings as a partisan spectacle, pointing to the long history of autopen use and accusing the committee of exploiting personal health issues for political gain.
Jean-Pierre’s own credibility has come under fire. Former colleagues alleged that she used spokesman Andrew Bates to “attack” journalists in the final months of Biden’s term, seeking to suppress stories about a publicist she had employed for self-promotion while still in the White House—a revelation that only surfaced after she and others had exited the administration. The episode has added another layer of intrigue to her forthcoming memoir, which, according to Comer, may contain explosive new details relevant to the investigation.
The controversy has also drawn in the Justice Department. Trump’s White House counsel launched a parallel investigation in July, working with the DOJ to scrutinize the legality of the autopen’s use. The committee’s focus, however, remains squarely on whether the process for signing legal documents was manipulated, and if so, who was ultimately responsible.
As the Oversight Committee prepares to release its findings, the questions swirling around Biden’s final year in office remain unresolved. Was there a deliberate effort to conceal the president’s health challenges from the public? Did senior staff circumvent legal protocols in the rush to sign last-minute executive actions? And what, if anything, will Jean-Pierre’s book reveal about the inner workings of a White House under siege?
With the political world watching, the answers may soon come to light, but for now, the intrigue and uncertainty surrounding the Biden administration’s last days continue to fuel debate on Capitol Hill and beyond.
