{"id":2468585,"date":"2025-07-30T10:20:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steve-ricchetti-appears-for-biden-autopen-testimony-at-house-oversight\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:21:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:21:57","slug":"steve-ricchetti-appears-for-biden-autopen-testimony-at-house-oversight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steve-ricchetti-appears-for-biden-autopen-testimony-at-house-oversight\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Ricchetti appears for Biden autopen testimony at House Oversight"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsteve-ricchetti-appears-for-biden-autopen-testimony-at-house-oversight%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2468585&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Steve Ricchetti,a longtime close aide to president Joe Biden and former deputy chief of staff,testified behind closed doors before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into Biden&#8217;s use of an autopen to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/staffer-suspected-of-abusing-biden-auto-pen-two-ex-wh-insiders-speak-out\/\" title=\"...er Suspected of Abusing Biden Auto-Pen: Two Ex-WH Insiders Speak Out\">sign official documents<\/a> in 2024. Ricchetti has been part of Biden&#8217;s inner circle as 2012 and is believed to have insight into the president&#8217;s health and mental capacity during the period when the autopen was used to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >sign numerous executive actions<\/a>,including pardons. Although autopen use is not unusual, the committee is probing whether Biden was mentally aware enough to authorize its deployment.<\/p>\n<p>Ricchetti&#8217;s testimony is significant as he is the first member of Biden&#8217;s so-called &#8220;Politburo&#8221; to appear this week, with other top advisors expected to follow. Past witnesses, including Biden&#8217;s aides and physician, have largely invoked the Fifth Amendment. The committee aims to uncover the extent of Biden&#8217;s involvement and decision-making in the autopen use amid allegations of a cover-up regarding the president&#8217;s health.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to this investigation, the House Oversight Committee is pursuing subpoenas related to Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s case, underscoring a busy agenda as members return from recess. Transcripts from the autopen-related <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-seeks-answers-from-hunter-biden-linked-firm-accused-of-illegal-foreign-lobbying\/\" title=\"GOP wants answers from Hunter Biden-linked firm accused of illegal foreign lobbying\">closed-door interviews<\/a> are expected to be released after all testimonies conclude.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Steve Ricchetti, Biden &lsquo;Politburo&rsquo; member, appears for House Oversight autopen interview<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2175575\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Steve Ricchetti, former deputy chief of staff to President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/BIDEN\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Joe Biden<\/a>, testified behind closed doors Wednesday in the latest interview for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-oversight-committee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">House Oversight Committee&rsquo;s<\/a> investigation into the former president&rsquo;s inner circle and his use of the autopen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ricchetti, who served closely under Biden since 2012 during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/obama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Obama<\/a> administration and previously served in the Clinton administration, entered the Rayburn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">House<\/a> office building at 9:41 a.m. and headed into the hearing room. He did not take questions from reporters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3485452\/blue-wave-possible-too-early-look-midterm-elections\/\">Is a blue wave even possible? A way too early look at the midterm elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3485387\/hakeem-jeffries-visit-texas-redistricting-push\/\">Hakeem Jeffries to visit Texas and California over redistricting push<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3485001\/wiley-nickel-exits-north-carolina-senate-race-democrats-roy-cooper\/\">Wiley Nickel exits NC Senate race as Democrats pin hopes on Roy Cooper<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Ricchetti&rsquo;s appearance is notable as he&rsquo;s been in Biden&rsquo;s inner circle and would presumably know about the president&rsquo;s health and mental acuity in 2024 when his autopen signature was used to sign a wave of executive actions while the president <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3435968\/biden-autopen-use-dc-widespread\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"was in Washington D.C\">was in Washington D.C<\/a>., including pardons. While the use of an autopen is not uncommon for a president, the committee is investigating whether he had the mental awareness to authorize it. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Steve Ricchetti, former counselor to the president and deputy chief of staff for the White House, arrived on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 to testify before the House Oversight Committee on its investigation into the use of the autopen during the Biden administration. (Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3435968\/biden-autopen-use-dc-widespread\/\"><strong>BIDEN AUTOPEN USE IN DC WAS MORE WIDESPREAD THAN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Biden had said he made &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/13\/us\/politics\/biden-pardon-autopen-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"every\">every<\/a>&rdquo; final decision in an interview with the <em>New York Times<\/em>, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3470261\/biden-staff-approved-mass-last-minute-pardons-with-autopen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"emails revealed\">emails revealed<\/a> he did not closely review every clemency case and delegated his aides to handle the process.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The cover up isn&rsquo;t holding,&rdquo; House Oversight Committee GOP <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GOPoversight\/status\/1950554727244050729\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">posted<\/a> ahead of the hearing.<\/p>\n<p>Ricchetti worked in the office of the vice president under the Obama administration, chairman of the Biden campaign, and was a top aide to the former president during his single term. Ricchetti also worked as a lobbyist.<\/p>\n<p>Ricchetti was not the only member of his family to serve in the Biden administration. His son, <a href=\"https:\/\/2021-2025.state.gov\/biographies\/daniel-ricchetti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Daniel Ricchetti\">Daniel Ricchetti<\/a>, served as a senior advisor at the State Department and on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before that. His daughter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govexec.com\/management\/2021\/06\/ethics-experts-say-administrations-hiring-top-biden-advisors-kids-raises-questions\/174745\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Shannon Ricchetti,\">Shannon Ricchetti,<\/a> was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-3-biden-scandals-youre-not-hearing-about\/\" title=\"The 3 Biden Scandals You\u2019re Not Hearing About\">deputy associate director<\/a> of the Office of the Social Secretary at the White House.&nbsp;And his son, <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy0226\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"J.J. Ricchetti\">J.J. Ricchetti<\/a>, served in the Treasury Department as Special Assistant in the Office of Legislative Affairs after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>He is the first member of the so-called &ldquo;Politburo&rdquo; to testify this week to the Oversight Committee, with another member of Biden&rsquo;s inner circle, Mike Donilon, set to appear for an interview on Thursday. Ricchetti, Donilon, and policy wonk Bruce Reed were Biden&rsquo;s closest advisors and essentially<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/05\/25\/us-news\/the-politburo-members-who-were-really-the-biden-white-house-according-to-original-sin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\" truly ran the White House\"> ran the White House<\/a>, according to the authors of the book <em>Original Sin<\/em> on the alleged cover-up of Biden&rsquo;s health decline. <\/p>\n<p>Previously, two former Biden aides,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3472329\/biden-aide-anthony-bernal-deposition-house-oversight-committee-autopen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Anthony Bernal<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3474158\/annie-tomasini-house-oversight-deposition-biden-autopen-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Annie Tomasini<\/a>, and his physician,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3466250\/biden-physician-dr-kevin-oconnor-house-oversight-committee-deposition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Kevin O&rsquo;Connor<\/a>, took the Fifth Amendment when they appeared for their deposition in recent weeks after being subpoenaed by the committee. Three former aides&mdash;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3452415\/neera-tanden-house-oversight-committee-authorized-autopen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Neera Tanden<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3467935\/biden-aide-ashley-williams-appears-house-oversight-autopen-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ashley Williams<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3480527\/ron-klain-house-oversight-biden-autopen-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ron Klain<\/a>&mdash;have participated in the transcribed interviews, but those transcripts have not yet been made public.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump waived <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cnn-complains-about-fox-news-chyrons-regarding-biden-ignoring-networks-own-chyrons-during-trump\/\" title=\"CNN Complains About Fox News Chyrons Regarding Biden, Ignoring Network\u2019s Own Chyrons During Trump\">executive privilege<\/a> last month for all of the former aides in the investigation. Executive privilege allows the witness to withhold information from Congress to protect the integrity of the executive branch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Transcribed interviews are typically conducted by the majority and minority committee staff over several hours. The slated interviews are set to take place through September.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3482634\/congress-heat-epstein-files-house-recess-town-halls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>HOUSE MEMBERS FACE EPSTEIN HEAT AS THEY RETURN HOME FOR AUGUST RECESS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Along with the Biden investigation, the committee has been busy, as three motions have passed to issue subpoenas to get more information involving the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The committee already subpoenaed Epstein&rsquo;s associate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3478340\/house-oversight-committee-subpoena-ghislaine-maxwell-epstein\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a>, for her deposition set to take place on Aug. 11, in Florida, though the inmate has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3485222\/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-house-testimony-advance-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"list of conditions\">list of conditions<\/a> before her scheduled prison interview.  <\/p>\n<p>The transcripts from the closed-door interviews are slated to be made public once all the interviews have concluded, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3474187\/deposition-video-annie-tomasini-fifth-house-oversight-biden-autopen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">footage of those<\/a> who invoked their Fifth Amendment Rights was released the evening after they concluded.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mackenzie Thomas contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2175575\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2175575\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steve Ricchetti testifies in House Oversight autopen probe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2468586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3683-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[51873,3620,33576,60254,8676],"class_list":["post-2468585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-autopen","tag-biden","tag-house-oversight","tag-steve-ricchetti","tag-testimony"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IMG_3683-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2468585"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2468589,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2468585\/revisions\/2468589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2468586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2468585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2468585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2468585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}