Biden advisor who vowed his boss was healthy testifies he only interacted with him twice

Ian Sams, a former special assistant to former President Joe Biden, testified on Thursday that he only “interacted” with his boss on two occasions, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said.

Sams testified to the House Oversight Committee that he had only two in-person interactions with his boss during his time in the White House, Comer said in a statement. His testimony contributed to the committee’s investigation into the cover-up of Biden’s physical and cognitive decline throughout his presidency and reelection campaign.

“Listen, I want to say this one more time so everyone understands. Ian Sams, who was the White House spokesperson for a significant time of Joe Biden’s time as president, only interacted with him two times. Two times,” Comer told reporters.

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Sams repeatedly defended Biden’s capabilities to serve and disputed that he had declined. Comer said that Sams was never in any position to adamantly assure that Biden was in perfect health given his limited interactions with his boss.

“Ian Sams frequently spoke publicly and with apparent authority about President Biden’s mental fitness and state of mind. However, Mr. Sams admitted he had very limited interaction with the President—identifying only two in-person meetings, one virtual meeting, and one phone call. In fact, Special Counsel Robert Hur probably spent more time with President Biden than Mr. Sams did,” Comer said in a statement.

“Rather than drawing conclusions from firsthand experience, Mr. Sams received much of his direction from the White House Counsel and Biden’s inner circle,” the statement continued. “Mr. Sams repeatedly made broad public claims about the President’s cognitive condition, but he was not in a position to make these claims based on such limited contact.”

Sams asserted during a Feb. 9, 2024, press briefing that special counsel Robert Hur’s claims about Biden having a “poor memory” were inaccurate. After interviewing Biden, Hur had concluded that the then-president was a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” and therefore would not prosecute him over the classified documents found in his personal possession.

In a June 27 letter, Comer wrote to Sams that he should answer to Congress since he had been on “the first line of defense to spin negative stories” about Biden.

“You were on the first line of defense to spin negative stories about the President and his mishaps,” Comer wrote. “The scope of your responsibilities—both official and otherwise—and personal interactions within the Oval Office cannot go without investigation, given the mounting evidence that President Biden was incapacitated for much, if not all, of his single term.”

When former Vice President Kamala Harris launched her campaign, Sams publicly challenged President Donald Trump to release his own medical records to prove that he is in good health.

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