[ad_1]
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A member of former President Joe Biden’s inner circle sat with House Oversight Committee investigators for a marathon closed-door interview that lasted more than eight hours on Wednesday.
Steve Ricchetti, who served as counselor to the president for all four years of Biden’s term, was described as “combative and defensive” during his voluntary meeting, a source familiar with the sitdown told Fox News Digital.
The source described Ricchetti as defiant in the face of doubts about Biden’s mental acuity, though he “admitted that they all knew President Biden’s age was an issue and were dealing with it as a political matter,” they said.
“Mr. Ricchetti stated that he believed President Biden had the ability to be president and that he was performing the capacity of president every day. He believes that Joe Biden is capable to being president today, and that he could have won in 2024,” the source told Fox News Digital.
COMER DISMISSES BIDEN DOCTOR’S BID FOR PAUSE IN COVER-UP PROBE: ‘THROWING OUT EVERY EXCUSE’
Former counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti met with House investigators on Wednesday (Getty Images)
Ricchetti, a longtime Democratic operative and lobbyist, first began working for Biden in March 2012 when he was appointed counselor to the vice president under former President Barack Obama. He was elevated to be Biden’s chief of staff in December 2013.
He touted his closeness to Biden over the last 13 years, the source said, and described having personal relationships with former first lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden as well.
Ricchetti’s own children were also close to the White House during Biden’s tenure – at least three of them had jobs in the Democratic administration at some point.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is investigating whether Biden’s top White House aides concealed signs of mental decline in the president, and if that meant executive actions were signed via autopen…
[ad_2]
