Jean-Pierre Grilled By House Committee Over Biden Autopen

Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre appeared Friday before the House Oversight Committee in a high-stakes interview examining whether top aides covered up signs of mental decline in then-President Joe Biden.

Jean-Pierre, who served as Biden’s press secretary from May 2022 through the end of his term, is the most high-profile witness to testify so far. Once a loyal Democrat, she has since left the party and now identifies as an Independent.

She entered the closed-door deposition without speaking to reporters. The transcribed interview began at 10 a.m. and was expected to last throughout the day.

House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) is leading the investigation into whether Biden’s staff concealed his deteriorating condition and allowed critical government documents to be executed by autopen without his full awareness.

“We intentionally wanted Jean-Pierre to be one of the last people we bring in,” Comer said before the testimony. He noted that her recently released book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, is of particular interest to investigators.

“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,” Comer emphasized.

A central focus of the probe is Biden’s sweeping use of clemency powers, particularly the 2,500 pardons and commutations issued at the end of his presidency — all signed by autopen.

Biden insisted in a 2025 interview with The New York Times that he personally approved every clemency decision. But Republicans say there is mounting evidence that he was detached from the process, while Democrats dismiss the inquiry as purely partisan, according to Fox News.

Jean-Pierre was one of Biden’s most visible defenders following his disastrous June 2024 debate performance against then-candidate Donald Trump, telling reporters that July he was “as sharp as ever.” However, her relationship with Biden’s circle soured earlier this year, creating a different dynamic from other former staffers who have remained loyal.

Internal White House communications obtained by the New York Post show serious doubts among aides and Justice Department officials about whether Biden ever personally reviewed the final clemency orders.

The records reveal that on Jan. 11, 2025, Biden verbally approved a plan to commute sentences for certain inmates serving time for crack cocaine offenses. But the actual warrant documents — covering some 2,500 cases — were not affixed with his autopen signature until Jan. 17, just three days before leaving office.

As late as the evening of Jan. 16, then-Staff Secretary Stef Feldman hesitated to move forward without written confirmation from Biden himself.

“I’m going to need email … confirming P[resident] signs off on the specific documents when they are ready,” Feldman wrote at 9:16 p.m.

Deputy White House counsel Tyeesha Dixon forwarded the request to Michael Posada, chief of staff in the counsel’s office, noting: “Michael, thoughts on how to handle this? He doesn’t review the warrants.”

Posada’s reply made clear the precarious situation: “We will just need something … making clear that the documents accurately reflect his decision.”

Despite the uncertainty, the White House pushed the clemency through at 4:59 a.m. on Jan. 17. Staff later pointed to a note from deputy assistant Rosa Po stating that Biden had verbally expressed support for the plan days earlier.

Still, questions remain over whether Biden ever reviewed or approved the final paperwork before the autopen was used — fueling Republican suspicions that staff were acting on their own in the waning days of his presidency.