Former White House press secretary Karine Jean‑Pierre sat for a closed‑door, transcribed interview Friday with the Republican‑led House Oversight Committee as investigators pressed whether senior White House staff sought to obscure signs of President Joe Biden’s mental or physical decline and whether autopen signatures were used without the president’s full awareness.
The interview, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and expected to last into the afternoon, is part of a broader probe by Oversight Chair James Comer, R‑Ky., into whether aides carried out a strategy “to hide the chief executive’s condition — or to perform his duties,” and whether that conduct warrants a congressional or legislative response. Jean‑Pierre, who served as Biden’s primary public spokesperson from May 2022 through the end of his term, declined to speak to reporters as she arrived for the session.
Comer has focused in part on a batch of clemency orders near the end of the Biden administration that were executed via autopen, a device that can replicate a signature. Committee investigators have said roughly 2,500 orders were signed near the end of the presidency using the autopen. Biden has told The New York Times that he personally made every clemency decision, and allies of the former president have criticized the inquiry as politically motivated.
Jean‑Pierre was among the most visible figures to defend Biden publicly after his widely scrutinized June 2024 debate with former President Donald Trump. At a July press briefing, she said Biden was “as sharp as ever.” But in mid‑2025 she announced plans to write a memoir, titled Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, and signaled her departure from the Democratic Party. A publisher’s summary said the book would address “the three weeks that led to Biden’s abandonment of his bid for a second term and the betrayal by the Democratic Party that led to his decision.” The announcement drew public criticism from some former administration officials.
Comer wrote to Jean‑Pierre in June asking her to appear for an interview, calling her “a trusted inner‑circle confidante” who was “near the president daily.” In the letter, Comer said Jean‑Pierre’s repeated attributions of Biden’s perceived lapses to “cheap fakes” or “misinformation” warranted scrutiny if staff had attempted to conceal the president’s condition.
Former White House chief of staff Jeff Zients is also scheduled to meet with Oversight investigators, according to committee announcements, as the panel continues to seek testimony from aides who were close to the president in the final months of his administration.
The investigation has drawn partisan lines in Congress and among outside actors. Republicans on the committee say they are seeking facts about whether official duties were performed on the president’s behalf and whether any actions lacked proper legal authority. Democrats and Biden allies have described the probe as an effort to score political points and have defended the former president’s record and decision‑making.
The closed‑door setting will produce a transcribed statement rather than live public testimony. Lawmakers on both sides have previously said they plan to review transcripts and may call additional witnesses or seek documents depending on what the committee determines in the coming weeks. The Oversight Committee’s work is expected to continue as members weigh whether the findings should prompt legislation, referrals or other actions.
The session with Jean‑Pierre marks one of several high‑profile interviews the panel has scheduled as it examines the autopen issue and related questions about White House procedures during the final phase of the Biden presidency.
