The audio catches a voice that struggles to remember important events and a quiet that now reverberates well beyond the Map Room, something that previously published transcripts were unable to do.

Concerns regarding former President Joe Biden’s mental acuity in his last year in office are being rekindled by just made public audio of his conversations with Special Counsel Robert Hur in October 2023. The tapes of two different meetings, each lasting three hours, in which Biden was questioned over his handling of secret documents were acquired by Axios.

The former U.S. president found it difficult to remember when he left his position as vice president, when Donald Trump was elected president, and the year his son Beau passed away.

His responses are hesitant, punctuated by long silences and slurred syllables. His lawyers often intervened to assist him remember important events, such as the 2016 presidential election and the death of his son in 2015.

The audio captured the former American leader’s quiet voice, prolonged pauses, and bewilderment, all set to the sound of a grandfather clock in the Map Room of the White House. This was something that previous transcripts failed to catch.

Reaction online was swift and emotional. “Oh my God. To hear this unfiltered version of the president is not only heartbreaking but everyone responsible for allowing this man to continue to sit unimpeded in the Oval Office should be brought up on criminal charges,” one netizen shared. “This is absolutely terrifying audio.”

Another added in part, “Listening to this makes me feel a deep sadness for an elderly man who is looking for memories but losing his battle with dementia.” “A transcript would never begin to capture what a trainwreck this was,” a third commented.

“No wonder they tried to cover this up. This is insane and just plain sad,” another said. “This is horrifying,” someone else stated. Some commenters placed less blame on Biden himself and more on those around him.

One Republican sympathiser compared it to asking someone without legs to walk, arguing that it was impossible to expect Biden to continue to perform at such a demanding post despite his age-related decline.

They maintained that his closest supporters—Democratic leaders, liberal media, and even his family—were to blame for failing to intervene and pressure him to resign.

Others focused on the ramifications of what the tape showed and were more critical. According to one source, Biden was obviously unable to answer even simple questions or keep a consistent line of thought. They noted that it felt almost like a betrayal of the nation that he was being set up for another four-year term.

The audio comes after the publication of “Original Sin”, a new book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson of Axios that purports to describe attempts by the national media and Democratic Party to hide Biden’s cognitive decline during his 81-year-old second-term campaign.

During one segment of the recording, Biden recounted an incident from his Senate days in which he said that then-President Barack Obama had dissuaded him against running for president.

Biden claims that Obama thought Hillary Clinton “had a better shot” of becoming president. The comment gave the already delicate audio a further level of political context.

Biden’s lengthy pauses and repeated memory lapses during the interviews regarding his possession of classified documents influenced Special Counsel Hur’s conclusion that a jury would probably judge Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Hur’s decision to drop criminal charges despite the former president’s unlawful retention of secret materials was largely influenced by that determination. Republicans reacted negatively to the action, particularly given that President Trump was facing prosecution in a separate case involving sensitive data.

James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, responded to the mounting issue by saying the committee will continue to look into what he called a concerted attempt to hide Biden’s cognitive impairment.

Comer said the Committee will bring top White House officials Ashley Williams, Anthony Bernal, and Annie Tomasini back into the spotlight after they were previously subpoenaed for allegedly avoiding examination of Joe Biden.

Additionally, the panel is seeking evidence from Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s doctor, whom they asked for a transcript of an interview with during the previous Congress. Comer further stated that the audio tapes from Special Counsel Hur’s probe into sensitive documents had been subpoenaed by the Committee.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, however, refused to comply, further frustrating Republicans who have charged the administration with blocking oversight.

President Trump responded on Truth Social as the investigation picks up steam again. He focused on the purported abuse of the autopen, a mechanical tool used to attach a signature without the signer’s direct involvement, in a scathing piece published on May 17. He called it “a bigger and bigger scandal by the moment.”

He asserted that the usage of the autopen was at the heart of what he called a larger conspiracy involving the 2020 presidential race and former President Biden’s mental health.

Trump claimed that the same people who rigged the 2020 election were now being revealed, framing the incident as a part of a long-running conspiracy.

Additionally, he linked the autopen scandal to the January 6 Select Committee’s activities, accusing its members of concealing wrongdoing and deleting evidence.

Trump claimed without providing evidence that the use of the autopen was connected to unlawful pardons, a skewed legal system, and a politically driven effort to quiet him and his followers.

Referencing familiar targets — former FBI Director James Comey as well as former presidents Obama and Biden, referring to the latter as “hapless and cognitively impaired” — Trump reiterated his claim that his campaign had been spied on, and insisted, “THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED!”

He concluded with a rallying cry to his base, “THE FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN!!!”

Please SHARE this article with your Friends and Family and let us know in the comments!