Former senior Biden adviser Mike Donilon told the House Oversight Committee on Thursday that he was paid $4 million working on the former president’s 2024 campaign and was set to receive an additional $4 million if he was reelected, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
While Donilon’s $4 million salary was first detailed in the book “Original Sin,” the possible $4 million additional payout for a Biden reelection victory was not previously known.
In his closed-door testimony to the committee Donilon defended former President Joe Biden’s fitness for office amid reports about his mental and physical decline during his time in the White House. “What I saw, day in and day out, was a leader who was deeply engaged and in command on critical issues, both at home and abroad,” according to a copy of Donilon’s opening statement obtained by CNN.
Donilon’s testimony to the committee comes as the Republican-led panel has interviewed Biden’s top White House aides this week as part of its intensifying investigation into the former president’s cognitive decline and possible efforts to conceal it from the public.
“I believed that President Biden was the best person to lead the country on the day he took the oath of office and I continued to believe that was true every day he served as President,” Donilon said in his statement.
CNN has reached out to Donilon for comment.
This week the committee also met with former Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti, who called the probe an “unprecedented effort” to intimidate the prior administration
Several Biden aides have declined to cooperate with the committee’s investigation and invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after being subpoenaed to appear.
Earlier this month, three Biden aides – White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, former assistant to the president and senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal and former assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini – who previously served as director of Oval Office Operations – pleaded the fifth in the face of questions from the panel.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
