Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain answered questions in an interview with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in its investigation into former President Biden’s mental acuity and use of an autopen.
His approach contrasts with some other former Biden aides who refused to answer questions, invoking their Fifth Amendment rights.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said that Klain was “fairly responsive” to the panel’s questions as the interview broke for a lunch break, expecting to continue questioning into late afternoon.
“I found Mr. Klain to be very credible. He answered every single question. He was fully cooperative,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a member of the committee, said of Klain’s interview.
Khanna added that Klain was “forthcoming” about private conversations he had with Biden and did not avoid questions.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), another member of the committee, said that Klain was “not trying to avoid answering the questions” and was “answering the questions carefully.”
“I think he is telling what he knows accurately,” Biggs said. “He’s trying to be accurate.”
Several other former aides from the Biden administration invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to answer the committee’s questions in recent depositions: Anthony Bernal, former chief of staff to first lady Jill Biden; deputy director of Oval Office operations Annie Tomasini; and Biden’s former White House doctor Kevin O’Connor.
Others, though, have answered questions in depositions with the committee, such as former Biden aides Ashley Williams and Neera Tanden.
“Americans what to know, was Joe Biden in fact aware of what the autopen was being used to sign his name on, or was in fact some family members or high-level officials in the Biden administration just acting unilaterally as president of the United States and using the autopen?” Comer said ahead of Klain’s interview.
One Biden ally told The Hill that former aides to the ex-president will take different approaches to the investigation, which they see as an exercise in political retribution.
“People are going to take different approaches. Some might speak to committee, while others may invoke their Fifth Amendment rights. But none of it changes the fact that this investigation isn’t about oversight — it’s about political retribution,” the Biden ally said.
NewsNation and Alex Gangitano contributed.