GOP investigations aim to keep spotlight — and blame — on Biden

Republicans have now launched four separate investigations into former President Biden and whether his declining health affected his abilities in the White House.Why it matters: Democrats don't want to talk about Biden after last year's elections. Republicans are trying to force them to — even as the GOP has shown little willingness to conduct oversight of the Trump administration's norm-busting first months.The GOP probes reflect how questioning Biden's legitimacy has become a focus of Trump's presidency — and how in the face of any bad news, Trump frequently blames Biden, 82, as an excuse or a deflection.State of play: Following Trump's lead, Republicans across Washington have eagerly opened investigations in recent weeks.On Tuesday, House Oversight chair James Comer (R-Ky.) will begin conducting closed-door interviews of former senior Biden White House officials that are expected to continue for months.Comer also subpoenaed Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, who will be deposed on July 9, according to a Comer spokesperson.Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' select subcommittee on investigations, launched a Biden probe last month.Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) co-chaired a Judiciary Committee hearing last week titled "Unfit to Serve: How the Biden Cover-Up Endangered America and Undermined the Constitution."On June 4, Trump instructed his Justice Department and the White House counsel's office to open an investigation into "whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President."What's next: This week, Comer's committee will interview former White House staff secretary Neera Tanden and Jill Biden's top aide, Anthony Bernal. Former top aides Ashley Williams and Annie Tomasini will be interviewed on July 11 and 18, respectively.A Comer spokesperson told Axios that other former top Biden aides — Mike Donilon, Anita Dunn, Ron Klain, Bruce Reed and Steve Ricchetti — voluntarily agreed to be interviewed but haven't been scheduled yet.Transcripts from the interviews eventually will be made public, the spokesperson said.Johnson's committee is "scheduling voluntary transcribed interviews with the former [Biden] Cabinet members," according to his spokesperson, Grace Carnathan.It's unclear whether Cornyn and Schmitt will hold more hearings, but Schmitt announced he'd pursue a Special Access Request under the Presidential Records Act for documents related to Biden's use of an autopen to sign documents, and whether any staffers abused that power.Given Trump's intense focus on and complaints about his predecessor, the Justice Department's main office is running the investigation rather than the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C., which typically would have jurisdiction, according to a person familiar with the inquiry.What they're saying: A Biden spokesperson declined to comment.Earlier this month in response to Trump ordering the investigation, Biden said in a statement: "Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false."Klain and O'Connor declined to comment.Dunn, Ricchetti, Reed, and Donilon did not respond to requests for comment.Between the lines: It's not clear whether the probes are interested in obtaining new information or are just aimed at keeping Biden in the news to deflect from any missteps by Trump. Republicans have cited the new book "Original Sin" about Biden's decline (co-authored by this reporter) as a rationale to probe more. Few Democrats have defended Biden and his capabilities. Instead, they've tried to put the focus on Trump and his policies — deporting unauthorized immigrants who have been in the U.S. for decades, increasing tariffs around the globe, and how his family's businesses are increasingly interconnected with, and profiting from, his presidency.Senate Democrats largely boycotted the Judiciary hearing last week and did not invite a witness of their own to counter Republican witnesses.The committee's top Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin (Illinois), said in an opening statement that "apparently arm-chair diagnosing former President Biden is more important than the issues of grave concern." He then played a montage of video clips insinuating that Trump, 79, was the elderly president in cognitive decline.It's unclear what Democrats on the House Oversight Committee will do this week during the closed-door interviews.The party has been without a leader on the committee since Rep. Gerry Connolly died of cancer in May. Democrats will pick a new leader on the panel on Tuesday.

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