{"id":2469257,"date":"2025-07-31T17:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T21:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-aide-mike-donilon-appears-for-house-oversight-autopen-inquiry\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T17:13:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T21:13:28","slug":"biden-aide-mike-donilon-appears-for-house-oversight-autopen-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-aide-mike-donilon-appears-for-house-oversight-autopen-inquiry\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden aide Mike Donilon appears for House Oversight autopen inquiry"},"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%2Fbiden-aide-mike-donilon-appears-for-house-oversight-autopen-inquiry%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=2469257&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>Mike Donilon, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-biden-adviser-departing-white-house-at-months-end\/\" title=\"...s top adviser leaving ... soon.\">longtime senior adviser<\/a> to joe Biden, testified before the House Oversight Committee as part of an investigation into the Biden administration&#8217;s use of the autopen-a device used to sign documents on behalf of the president. Donilon stated he had no knowledge of the autopen&#8217;s use during Biden&#8217;s presidency. Throughout his testimony, donilon defended biden&#8217;s fitness for office, noting that although the president aged over his term, his leadership and interaction improved.Donilon has been a key figure in Biden&#8217;s political career as 1981 and confirmed he was compensated $4 million for Biden&#8217;s 2024 reelection campaign. The hearing is part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >broader inquiry initiated<\/a> after skepticism regarding the autopen&#8217;s role in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-pledging-to-reopen-schools-joe-biden-endorses-chicago-teachers-unions-illegal-strike-video\/\" title=\"After Pledging to Reopen Schools, ... Endorses Chicago Teachers Union\u2019s Illegal Strike (VIDEO)\">signing executive actions<\/a> and pardons during Biden&#8217;s final days in office, wiht further testimonies from other Biden aides expected.  <\/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\">Longtime Biden aide Mike Donilon appears for House Oversight Committee autopen inquiry<\/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_2176786\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Mike Donilon, former senior adviser to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Joe Biden\">Joe Biden<\/a>, <span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">testified before the House Oversight Committee Thursday morning that he had no knowledge of the Biden administrati<\/span>on&rsquo;s use of the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/autopen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">&nbsp;autopen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Appearing before the House Oversight Committee&rsquo;s sprawling investigation into the former president&rsquo;s inner circle, Donilon stood by Biden&rsquo;s fitness for office and claimed his communication skills &ldquo;got stronger&rdquo; during his one-term presidency, according to a source familiar with his testimony.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3487476\/trump-tributes-floated-republicans\/\">All the times Republicans have floated tributes to Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3487216\/texas-republicans-redistricting-gambling-on-latino-voters\/\">Texas Republicans&#8217; redistricting push gambling on Latino voters&#8217; loyalty<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3486810\/democrats-rebuke-trump-backed-redistricting-map-texas\/\">Democrats rebuke the Trump-backed redistricting map in Texas to cut out blue seats<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Donilon, who has worked with Biden since 1981, entered the Rayburn House Office room at 10:05 a.m. and left the hearing shortly after 4 p.m. He did not respond to questions from reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Donilon has been a staunch defender of Biden since he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, maintaining during his testimony that he believes congressional Democrats overreacted after Biden&rsquo;s debate against Trump, according to the source familiar.<\/p>\n<p>The longtime Biden aide confirmed to the committee that he was paid $4 million for Biden&rsquo;s reelection campaign, and would have been paid another $4 million if Biden had won, the source familiar said. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3440261\/biden-autopen-use-trump-investigation-what-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BIDEN AUTOPEN USE: WHAT TO KNOW AS TRUMP ORDERS AN INVESTIGATION INTO HIS PREDECESSOR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The longtime Biden aide and 2024 campaign adviser is the latest Biden team member to testify before the committee and the second from the so-called &ldquo;Politburo&rdquo; group made up of his closest advisers, according to Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper&rsquo;s book, <em>Original Sin: President Biden&rsquo;s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again<\/em>. Former deputy chief of staff Steve Ricchetti, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3485144\/steve-ricchetti-biden-politburo-house-oversight-autopen-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"testified Wednesday\">testified Wednesday<\/a>, was the first from the group to testify.<\/p>\n<p>The source familiar told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Donilon admitted Biden&rsquo;s presence was not as commanding and that he would stumble over more words. Donilon expressed to the committee that he was frustrated over Biden&rsquo;s perception, but acknowledged the difficulty of overcoming the visuals people have seen of him.<\/p>\n<p>Like Ricchetti, the committee hoped that Donilon&rsquo;s testimony as a close adviser would shed light on Biden&rsquo;s mental acuity during his time in the Oval Office, particularly in 2024, when the former president&rsquo;s autopen signature was used to sign a wave of executive actions and pardons.<\/p>\n<p>Donilon claimed to the committee that he did not recall having any knowledge of the autopen&rsquo;s use and did not know what it was used for, according to the source familiar.<\/p>\n<p>House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to Donilon on June 4 requesting his testimony, writing that the committee believes the aide has information &ldquo;critical&rdquo; to the investigation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Longtime Biden aide Mike Donilon appears for House Oversight&rsquo;s autopen inquiry <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2NANfeApyb\">pic.twitter.com\/2NANfeApyb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dcexaminer\/status\/1950928363045941264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;If White House staff carried out a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-bidens-doctor-subpoenaed-after-spurning-congress-this-is-a-big-deal\/\" title=\"...&#039;s Doctor Subpoenaed After Spurning Congress: &#039;This Is a Big Deal&#039;\">strategy lasting months<\/a> or even years to hide the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/czarbucks-fiscal-decisions-increasingly-influenced-by-unelected-officials-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Czarbucks: Fiscal decisions increasingly influenced by unelected officials - ...\">chief executive&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s condition&mdash;or to perform his duties&mdash;Congress may need to consider a legislative response,&rdquo; Comer&rsquo;s letter to Donilon reads.<\/p>\n<p>In his opening statement, Donilon told the committee that what he saw from Biden &ldquo;day in and day out, was a leader who was deeply engaged and in command on critical issues, both at home and abroad,&rdquo; according to the <em>Associated Press<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Donilon went on to tell the committee that &ldquo;every president ages over the four years of a presidency and President Biden did as well, but he also continued to grow stronger and wiser as a leader as a result of being tested by some of the most difficult challenges any President has ever faced,&rdquo; according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3425049\/autopen-history-and-controversy-presidential-use\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">THE LONG HISTORY AND CONTROVERSY OF PRESIDENTIAL AUTOPEN USE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Multiple presidents have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/power\/2025\/07\/28\/there-is-robot-washington-that-signs-presidents-name\/?utm_campaign=wp_main&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"known to utilize an autopen\">known to utilize an autopen<\/a> during their time in the White House, usually to sign presidential letters and messages. However, during Biden&rsquo;s waning hours in office, the tool was used to sign a series of pardons and clemency actions, which were met with skepticism once President Donald Trump reentered the White House.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mike Donilon, aide to former President Joe Biden, appears on Capitol Hill, July 31, 2025, for the Biden autopen investigation. (Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s White House counsel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3474846\/trump-white-house-biden-autopen-investigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"launched its own investigation\">launched an investigation<\/a> earlier this month into the Biden administration&rsquo;s use of the autopen, in conjunction with the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<p>Donilon is the eighth former Biden official whom the Oversight Committee has interviewed as part of its inquiry. The committee has also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3468994\/house-oversight-investigation-biden-autopen-use-witnesses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"scheduled interviews\">scheduled interviews<\/a> with former deputy chief of staff for policy Bruce Reed on Tuesday, and former senior adviser to the president for communications Anita Dunn on Aug. 7.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3435968\/biden-autopen-use-dc-widespread\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BIDEN AUTOPEN USE IN DC WAS MORE WIDESPREAD THAN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>More former Biden officials are expected to testify over the coming weeks, with interviews for press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, former Biden communication aides Ian Sams and Andrew Bates, and former chief of staff Jeff Zients, scheduled for August and September.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>has reached out to Donilon&rsquo;s lawyer for comment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <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_2176786\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2176786\"}});<\/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>Biden aide Donilon testifies, denies autopen knowledge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2469258,"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\/mike_donilon_biden_aide-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3620,33576,60335],"class_list":["post-2469257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-biden","tag-house-oversight","tag-mike-donilon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/mike_donilon_biden_aide-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469257","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=2469257"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469261,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469257\/revisions\/2469261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}