Former White House spokesman Ian Sams reportedly had just two in-person meetings with President Biden during his more than two years working in the administration, according to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who spoke to reporters on Thursday.
“This was a huge interview today, and I think it contradicts everything that the former Biden people are saying with respect to the president’s mental fitness,” Comer stated, calling Sams’ testimony “one of the most shocking” sessions the committee has conducted so far.
Comer explained that Sams’ direct contact with Biden was “very limited,” clarifying that the two in-person meetings were in addition to a virtual conference and one phone call involving the president.
“In fact, [former special counsel] Robert Hur spent more time with Joe Biden than Ian Sams,” Comer added, referencing the prosecutor’s two-day interview with the president while investigating whether Biden had “willfully” retained classified national security materials.
Sams’ interview with committee staff lasted a little over three hours, after which he left without speaking to members of the press.
One Biden White House colleague who worked closely with Sams suggested it was believable that Sams rarely interacted with the president. They explained that Sams’ office was located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to but separate from the West Wing, and that he typically communicated through top aides like communications director Anita Dunn and White House counsels Stuart Delery and Ed Siskel rather than directly with Biden.
Sams served as spokesman for the White House Counsel’s Office from mid-2022 until August 2024, when he left to become a senior adviser to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“It raises serious concerns and serious questions about who was calling shots at the White House,” Comer argued.
“If the White House spokesperson was being shielded from the president of the United States, who was operating the Oval Office?” he pressed further.
In their book on the inner workings of the Biden White House, journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson quoted a source familiar with its operations who said: “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.”
According to the “Original Sin” authors, this small circle of decision-makers included senior adviser Mike Donilon, presidential counselor Steve Ricchetti, and deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed. They reported that first lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden were also heavily involved, forming what was described as a “politburo” overseeing critical decisions.
Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain and senior adviser Annie Tomasini were also, at times, part of this tight-knit inner group, Tapper and Thompson noted.
Thursday’s session marked the 11th interview with a former Biden aide conducted as part of the Republican-led probe into what investigators allege was a deliberate effort to hide the president’s cognitive decline and possible abuse of executive power.
“There were very few people around Joe Biden, especially at the end,” Comer remarked, “and that’s when the majority of the pardons and executive orders were signed with that autopen.”
Comer also revealed that Sams informed the Oversight Committee that he was “surprised” when Joe Biden granted a pardon to his son Hunter following his conviction on tax and gun charges — as well as when Biden extended pre-emptive clemency to additional Biden family members and their spouses who had not been charged with any crimes.
{Matzav.com}
