Mike Donilon, a senior advisor to former President Joe Biden, told congressional investigators he had no knowledge of the autopen or its use, a source familiar with his testimony told the Daily Caller.
Donilon appeared Thursday before the House Oversight Committee as part of Chairman James Comer’s probe into Biden’s mental fitness and the administration’s use of the autopen. He had advised Biden since 1981, serving as a pollster, strategist and media consultant during Biden’s Senate tenure, according to his Harvard Institute of Politics biography. (RELATED: ‘A Great Candidate For Republicans’: James Comer Has Fun Predicting Kamala’s Future Job Prospects)
Donilon told the committee he stood to make $8 million from Biden’s reelection bid — half already paid out, with the rest contingent on a 2024 victory.
He reportedly downplayed concerns over Biden’s debate performance, saying critics in the media and on Capitol Hill had overreacted. He conceded the former president’s presence was sometimes diminished and that he occasionally stumbled over words, but expressed frustration with the public’s fixation on Biden’s appearance.
Donilon reiterated he had no knowledge of the autopen or how it was used.
He previously served as counselor to then-Vice President Biden and led strategy, polling, messaging, advertising and speechwriting for Biden’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns. (RELATED: Oversight Committee Moves To Subpoena The Clintons, Comey, Garland And Others In Epstein Probe)
Former Democratic Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips previously described Donilon as one of the “ringleaders” trying to keep Biden in the 2024 presidential race, warning that figures like him are motivated by “self-preservation.”
Steve Ricchetti, another longtime Biden aide, also downplayed concerns about the former president’s cognitive health during his Thursday testimony before the House Oversight Committee. (RELATED: House Oversight Committee Votes To Subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell For Deposition)
Ricchetti and Donilon followed former Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who sat for several hours of questioning last week.
Meanwhile, several close Biden associates — including former White House physician Kevin O’Connor, Jill Biden’s ex-chief of staff Anthony Bernal, and former aide Annie Tomasini — have recently invoked the Fifth Amendment before the committee.
