Aishah Hasnie: Ron Klain Revealed Jake Sullivan and Hillary Clinton Both Told Him Biden Was Not “Politically Viable”
FOX News correspondent Aishah Hasnie reports on former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain’s testimony in a closed-door House subcommittee hearing on President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS HOST: We are learning tonight some of what the man who was chief of staff to President Biden has to say about his — the president’s mental health while in office. Ron Klain testified for several hours during a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee today. He acknowledged the president was more forgetful, but said there was no reason to doubt his mental acuity. The panel is investigating whether there was a cover up to hide the president’s condition. Senior national correspondent Aishah Hasnie has the story tonight from Capitol Hill. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you ever see the former president take Ambien? Did he take it in front of you? HASNIE (voice over): President Biden’s former chief of staff, refusing to answer Fox’s questions, but did talk to lawmakers today in a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee, as they investigate the alleged cover up of Biden’s cognitive decline. Sources tell Fox, Klain, who was brought back in for debate prep, said Biden appeared tired and ill before the now infamous 2024 presidential debate. But that he has no knowledge of the president taking Ambien. That comes days after Hunter Biden blamed his father’s disastrous performance on that sleeping pill. HUNTER BIDEN, SECOND SON OF FORMER PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: He is 81 years old. He is tired as — They give him Ambien to be able to sleep. He gets up on the stage and he looks like he’s deer in headlights. HASNIE (voice over): Republicans want to know if the president was ever taking Ambien at any other point, and if it affected his decision making? REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): That is a mind-altering drug. Was that a one-time deal, or was he on Ambien every day? If so, then, that’s a problem. Sources also tell Fox, Klain said Biden was less energetic and more forgetful, often confusing names and proper nouns, which got worse over time. But he still believed Biden have the acuity to govern. Klain’s five- hour long interview today a departure from the three Biden insiders who previously pled The Fifth. REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): He answered every question comprehensively. Didn’t avoid a single question. (END VIDEOTAPE) HASNIE (on camera): And Bret, some more insight from inside the room, that deposition today, our source tells us that Ron Klain told lawmakers that former national security adviser Jake Sullivan came up to him and told him that he believed that Joe Biden was less effective in 2024 compared to 2022, and that Sullivan and Hillary Clinton both approached him and told him that they no longer thought that Biden was politically viable. Bret? BAIER: Aishah Hasnie, live on Capitol Hill. Aishah, thank you.
