Former top Biden aide Neera Tanden testified behind closed doors in Congress on Tuesday for four hours during which she said that she was authorized to use the autopen on behalf of Joe Biden.
Tanden, who served as the Biden administration’s director of the White House Domestic Policy Council as well as staff secretary, said during her opening remarks that she “was responsible for handling the flow of documents to and from the president,” per the Washington Examiner.
“As staff secretary, I was responsible for handling the flow of documents to and from the president,” she told the committee. “I was also authorized to direct that autopen signatures be affixed to certain categories of documents. We had a system for authorizing the use of the autopen that I inherited from prior administrations. We employed that system throughout my tenure as staff secretary.”
She testified that between October 2021 and May 2023, she was authorized to direct who used the autopen when she served on the White House staff. After May 2023, she was not in charge of authorizing the use of the autopen. Tanden answered the Oversight Committee‘s questions, but did not immediately speak to the press on Tuesday morning.
When she was pressed by reporters on the topic later in the day on if there was a cover-up of Biden’s mental decline during his presidency, she answered, “Absolutely not.” Other witnesses, including former first lady Jill Biden, will be answering to the committee later this week.