Trump Declines to Declassify Biden Health Docs Amid Cover-Up Claims and Autopen Controversy

President Donald Trump has not instructed his administration to declassify documents concerning former President Joe Biden's health or any alleged cover-up of his mental decline during his presidency, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. During a Thursday press briefing, Fox News' Peter Doocy pressed Leavitt on whether Trump was seeking records to challenge claims about Biden's health. Leavitt responded, "He has not directed anyone, to my knowledge, to look into that, but I can ask him if he intends to."

The spotlight has returned to Biden's health following the release of audio from his interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The recordings captured Biden struggling with words, slurring sentences, and pausing at length, even forgetting the year his son Beau Biden passed away. Hur's investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents after his vice presidency concluded in February 2024, describing Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," and recommended no criminal charges.

Recent revelations, including Biden's office disclosing his battle with aggressive, metastasized prostate cancer, have fueled public discourse. Books published post-2024 election claim Biden’s staff concealed his mental and physical decline while projecting his fitness to lead. Leavitt called this "one of the worst political scandals" in U.S. history, asserting that the American public saw through the facade, contributing to Trump’s election victory on November 5.

Questions also swirled around the Biden administration’s use of an autopen to sign official documents, a practice Trump alleges allowed staffers to act without Biden’s direct approval. When Doocy asked about records of autopen use, Leavitt emphasized that in Trump’s White House, the president personally signs all legally significant documents, unlike the previous administration. The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project found consistent autopen signatures on Biden-era executive orders, contrasting with Biden’s handwritten signature on his 2024 campaign withdrawal announcement.