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A close associate of former President Joe Biden spent over eight hours in a closed-door interview with House Oversight Committee investigators on Wednesday.
Steve Ricchetti, who served as counselor to the president throughout Biden’s term, was described as “defensive and confrontational” during the voluntary meeting, according to a source familiar with the discussion.
The source mentioned that Ricchetti showed resistance when questioned about Biden’s mental sharpness but acknowledged that they were aware of Biden’s age being a concern and were handling it as a political issue.
“Mr. Ricchetti expressed his belief that President Biden is capable of performing the duties of the presidency every day. He is confident in Biden’s ability to serve as president currently and to have won in 2024,” the source informed Fox News Digital.
Former counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti met with House investigators on Wednesday. (Getty Images)
Ricchetti, a seasoned Democratic operative and lobbyist, joined Biden’s team in 2012 as counselor to the vice president under former President Barack Obama. He later became Biden’s chief of staff in 2013.
The source stated that Ricchetti emphasized his long-standing relationship with Biden over the past 13 years and mentioned personal connections with former first lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden as well.
Ricchetti’s children were also involved with the White House during Biden’s presidency, with at least three of them holding positions in the administration at various times.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is investigating whether top White House aides of Biden concealed any signs of mental decline in the president and if this led to executive actions being signed via autopen without his knowledge.
Ricchetti has had a relationship with Biden for over a decade. (Jonathan Ernst)
Ricchetti is the seventh former Biden aide to participate in the investigation, but only the fourth to do so voluntarily. Former White House doctor Kevin O’Connor and former White House aides Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal all invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions.
Ricchetti clarified that he was not involved in O’Connor’s physical evaluation letters for Biden but had discussions with senior staff on how to convey and present the president’s physical evaluation letters.
He defended Biden’s occasional slip-ups as “common mistakes” that anyone could make, stating that the frequency of these errors had not increased since Biden served as vice president.
The majority of the questioning during the lengthy session came from Republicans, with Democrats often attempting to shift the focus to former President Donald Trump.
Ricchetti did not comment to reporters when leaving the meeting on Wednesday evening, and no lawmakers were present during the interview, as is customary for such transcribed sessions.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ricchetti’s attorney for a response but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
