OPINION:
You think it’s all over? Oh, it ain’t over. Not by a long shot.
The Senate Republicans are about to do the job the mainstream media won’t: embarking on a quest to uncover what exactly was going on inside President Biden’s head.
Republican Sens. Eric Schmitt and John Cornyn are spearheading a groundbreaking Senate Judiciary Committee hearing next month to investigate Mr. Biden’s cognitive fitness (or lack thereof) when he held the office. Finally, someone wants answers to the question on everyone’s mind: Who was really calling the shots during Mr. Biden’s mental decline?
It’s about time someone (anyone) addressed what was obvious to us all: Mr. Biden wasn’t all there. The stiff and stumbling gait, the stammering and often incoherent speech, the lost and confused look in his eyes.
Mr. Cornyn drove the point home during his appearance last month on Fox News, asking the real constitutional questions that have massive implications for national security. “Who’s in charge?” the Texas senator said. “Whose finger was on the nuclear button?”
America deserves answers. Was it Jill Biden? Was it some aide? A random intern? No one really knows, not even Mr. Cornyn, which is why he’s calling for transparency and oversight, something Democrats seem allergic to. It’s not about politics. This is about ensuring the Constitution wasn’t turned into a paper prop while someone else played commander in chief.
One of the more bizarre revelations that will likely come up in the hearing is Mr. Biden’s use of an autopen device to mechanically stamp his signature on critical documents. This isn’t just about a clever piece of tech; it’s about a serious governance issue. Are we really supposed to believe that America’s top leader was fully engaged while handing off signature duties to a robot?
President Trump, of course, never missed a chance to question this absurd practice. His theory: Mr. Biden had no idea what was being signed, leaving unelected staffers to run the show. Even some Biden-era staffers acknowledge they aren’t sure who had the final say on what was signed. “No clarity,” one former White House official said. That’s reassuring.
The spectacle doesn’t stop there. Now, Republicans want answers from former first lady Jill Biden herself. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t mince words, explicitly calling Jill Biden “complicit” in covering up her husband’s health woes.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair James Comer is ready to drag some big names in to testify, including Mr. Biden, his wife and even their physician, Kevin O’Connor. Mr. Comer makes it crystal clear that subpoenas are very much on the table if those involved decide to play hard to get.
While Republicans dig for the truth, Democrats are busy perfecting the art of dodging hard questions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tells reporters he’s “looking forward,” as if the past didn’t happen. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries parrots prepackaged sound bites about “conspiracy theories,” while others dismiss attempts for transparency as a distraction.
Much of this renewed scrutiny comes on the heels of the recently released book “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, which shed light on what they call Mr. Biden’s “capacity for denial” and “lengths to avoid transparency about health issues.”
After ignoring the issue every day as a CNN anchor, Mr. Tapper’s book alleges — as we’ve long suspected — that the Bidens were more interested in spin than truth-telling.
The Biden camp, predictably, denies it all, claiming the book doesn’t prove there was a cover-up, nor does it show that Mr. Biden failed in his duties. But have you noticed the distinct lack of high-profile Democrats lining up to defend him? The silence speaks volumes.
With potential testimony from insiders and subpoenas looming on the horizon, it’s game on for Republicans. Messrs. Cornyn and Comer seem determined to ensure this never happens again. Whether this ends in legislation, reforms or just opening the floodgates of transparency, one thing is crystal clear: The Republican pursuit of accountability isn’t just necessary, it’s long overdue.
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter @josephcurl.
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