Biden Walks In With His Doctor. Jean-Pierre: 'This Is the First Time I'm Hearing of That' (August 28, 2023)

A reporter had just watched President Joe Biden walk into the Oval Office with his doctor. “The press pool spotted President walk into the Oval Office with his personal physician, Dr. O’Connor, a few minutes ago. Did — is there an appointment? Did he have a meeting about a health concern?” the reporter asked [1].

“This is the first time I’m hearing of that. Clearly, I did not see that, so I can’t — I can’t speak to that. I just don’t know,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered [1].

Two years later, that doctor, Kevin O’Connor, refused to answer House investigators’ questions about Biden’s health. He pleaded the Fifth [4].

The video above shows the exchange from the Aug. 28, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][2].

”The Oldest President in History”

The question came right after one about Biden’s age. “A new AP poll asked Americans an open-ended question on their thoughts on the President. And the most common response has to do with his age — how old he is, the oldest president in history,” the reporter said [1].

“Does the White House have additional plans to demonstrate that he can continue to, you know, do the job at his advanced age and, kind of, allay some of those concerns?” [1]

Jean-Pierre answered with a list of accomplishments. “If you watch him, if you’ve seen what he’s done in the last two years, this is — the President has had an historic administration in just two years. If you look at the 13.- — 13.5 — more than 13.5 million jobs that he’s been able to create,” she said [1].

”Lowest in Decades”

The same reporter asked about schools. “Test scores for this age group are the lowest in decades, despite billions of dollars in investment from this administration. Is the White House’s approach failing in not improving these test scores?” [1]

Jean-Pierre blamed the previous administration. “Remember, when the President walked in, more than 50 percent of schools were shut down because of COVID, because the last administration didn’t have a plan, didn’t have a comprehensive plan to deal with COVID,” she said [1].

“I don’t have — I don’t have a 10-step laid out for you, but I can say for sure that this President is committed,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”A Robust, Comprehensive Memo”

Six months later, Biden had his annual physical. “And did the President take a mental fitness or cognitive test during his physical this morning?” a reporter asked on Feb. 28, 2024 [2].

Jean-Pierre did not say. “So, let me just say I did see Dr. O’Connor in — he stopped by my office earlier today, after the President completed his physical this morning, as you all know. He was happy with how everything went,” she said. The memo, she said, “will be a robust, comprehensive memo” [2].

Then she answered the question. “Look, you know, the President doesn’t need a cognitive test. That is not my assessment. That is not my assessment. That is the assessment of the President’s doctor,” Jean-Pierre said. Biden, she said, “passes a cognitive test every day” [2].

“But given that there’s been so much scrutiny, and you say there’s no problem, he would pass the test every day, why not just have his doctor administer the test and then case closed?” a reporter asked. “Because the doctor doesn’t believe that he be- — he needs one,” she said [2].

By the Numbers

“A few minutes”: how long before the question the pool saw Biden enter with his doctor [1].
13.5 million: jobs Jean-Pierre cited when asked about Biden’s age [1].
50%: schools she said were shut when Biden took office [1].
14: depositions and transcribed interviews behind the House Oversight report [5].
47 hours: the length of those sessions, per the committee [5].

What Happened Next

The Senate hearing. At a June 18, 2025, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Unfit to Serve,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said: “The Biden administration may go down in history as the most brazen constitutional fraud in American history, a Potemkin Presidency fronted by a failing puppet with staffers behind the scenes pulling the strings” [3].

“In the case of President Biden, it was Dr. O’Connor who affirmatively stated his fitness for office,” Sean Spicer, who “served as the 30th White House press secretary,” testified. “The doctor should be held accountable for stating in the affirmative that President Biden was fit for office” [3].

The doctor took the Fifth. On July 9, 2025, House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said O’Connor, “Biden’s physician and family business associate, refused to answer any questions and chose to hide behind the Fifth Amendment.” “Dr. O’Connor took the Fifth when asked if he was told to lie about President Biden’s health and whether he was fit to be President of the United States,” Comer said [4].

The report. On Oct. 28, 2025, the committee released “The Biden Autopen Presidency: Decline, Delusion, and Deception in the White House.” It said Biden’s “top advisors, political operatives, and personal physician concealed the President’s mental and physical decline from the American people,” and Comer asked the District of Columbia Board of Medicine to review O’Connor’s actions [5].

On cognitive testing, the committee found that “political advisors interfered with decisions regarding President Biden’s medical evaluations, explicitly rejecting calls for cognitive testing to protect his reelection prospects.” It said O’Connor “did not perform a cognitive assessment of President Biden” [5].

For the special counsel’s description of Biden’s memory, see HYGO News’ page on “that is a hypothetical”.

”The Oldest President in History”

”Lowest in Decades”

”A Robust, Comprehensive Memo”

By the Numbers

What Happened Next

Sources

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