Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre admitted she could not identify who was responsible for providing her with the talking points she used to dismiss questions about President Joe Biden’s mental fitness, according to National Review.
During testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Friday, Jean-Pierre said she did not recall who inserted the administration’s messaging about “cheap fakes” into her briefing binder, according to a source familiar with the closed-door interview who spoke with National Review. She explained that multiple advisers contributed material for her daily binder, but senior officials handled language related to Biden’s mental state.
Jean-Pierre became widely known for labeling viral clips of Biden as “cheap fakes” in June 2024, a phrase she used to downplay videos showing the president appearing disoriented, including one of him freezing at a Hollywood fundraiser. That narrative unraveled after Biden’s poor debate performance weeks later thrust concerns over his cognitive decline into the national spotlight.
Following the debate, Jean-Pierre recalled being told by senior staff that Biden simply had a cold — a line she repeated publicly at the time. She testified that she never personally heard concerns from White House insiders about Biden’s health.
Having worked with Biden in different roles since 2009, Jean-Pierre told the panel she did not notice a major decline in his competency over the years, though she acknowledged he was no longer the same communicator as when she first met him. She said she was unsure why his speaking abilities had changed.
Jean-Pierre also testified that she never heard Biden stutter, though she remembered him referencing his childhood stutter and relating to people with similar struggles. Critics often accused the White House of using Biden’s past speech impediment as a way to deflect from questions about his mental acuity, despite the fact it had not hindered his long political career.
Her testimony is part of the Oversight Committee’s broader probe into Biden’s cognitive decline and the administration’s handling of the issue, including allegations that aides may have used the presidential autopen to issue pardons in Biden’s final weeks. The Trump administration is separately investigating whether any laws were broken.
Jean-Pierre is among several former Biden communications staffers questioned by the committee. Andrew Bates, who served as deputy press secretary, recently argued that media coverage — not Biden’s mental condition — was responsible for ending his political career. Another spokesman, Ian Sams, said he saw little of Biden during his time at the White House despite his prominent role.
Other former Biden aides, including Mike Donilon, Steve Richetti, and Ron Klain, defended the president’s mental fitness in their own interviews. By contrast, Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, and several others invoked their Fifth Amendment rights rather than answer questions.
Biden himself denied that staff had used the autopen to approve pardons without his authorization. Yet internal records from his administration suggest a disorganized process in his final days, leaving victims’ families unaware when violent offenders were granted clemency.