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An influential House committee is demanding that former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and three other former top White House staffers appear before Congress to testify about the alleged cover-up of former President Joe Biden’s mental decline.

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has been on the hunt for who was making decisions in Biden’s inner circle during the president’s apparent mental decline.

On Friday, he sent letters to Karine-Pierre and former White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, former senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates and former special assistant to the president Ian Sams, demanding they present themselves for transcribed interviews with the oversight committee.

The letters are part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into the alleged attempted cover-up of Biden’s decline and the potentially unauthorized issuance of sweeping pardons and other executive actions by senior White House officials usurping Biden’s presidential authority.

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In his letters, Comer says the committee believes that the four top Biden staffers have «critical» information on «who made key decisions and exercised the powers of the executive branch during the previous administration, possibly without former President Biden’s consent.»

The letter to Jean-Pierre stated that as White House press secretary and a top Biden confidante, «you were not only near the president daily, but you were ‘alongside the ranks of the president’s top confidantes.’»

«Your assertion, on multiple occasions, that President Biden’s decline was attributable to such tactics as ‘cheap fakes’ or ‘misinformation’ cannot go without investigation,» wrote Comer.

He said that «if White House staff carried out a strategy lasting months or even years to hide the chief executive’s condition — or to perform his duties — Congress may need to consider a legislative response.»

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Former President Joe Biden, left, and first lady Jill Biden arrive on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Aug. 5, 2024, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Comer set interview dates in late August and early September and gave the four senior officials until July 4 to confirm they would comply with the demands voluntarily or if they will «require a subpoena to compel your attendance for a deposition.»

Jean-Pierre, Zients, Bates and Sams are the latest former Biden senior officials to receive a congressional summons from Comer as part of the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the alleged cover-up. The chairman also issued subpoenas to Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, and Anthony Bernal, former assistant to the president and senior advisor to the first lady, after they refused to appear before the committee voluntarily.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Comer said that «as part of our aggressive investigation into the cover-up of his cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized executive actions, we must hear from those who aided and abetted this farce.»

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A new book describes President Joe Biden’s cabinet meetings as «scripted» and «uncomfortable.»  (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Care Can’t Wait Action)

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«President Biden’s inner circle repeatedly told the American people that he was ‘sharp as ever,’ dismissing any commentary about his obvious mental decline as ‘gratuitous,’» he said. «They fed these false talking points to progressive allies and the media, who helped perpetuate that President Biden was fit to serve.»

Jean-Pierre, Zients, Bates and Sams did not reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment before publication.

A World Health Organization (WHO) scientific advisory group on Friday released a report on the origins of COVID-19, concluding that available evidence suggests the deadly pandemic was caused by «zoonotic spillover,» either directly from bats or through an intermediate host.

The report from the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), which claims to be a panel of 27 independent, international, multidisciplinary experts, said that much of the information needed to fully evaluate all hypotheses has not been provided.

However, still citing a believed cause, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that «all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak.»

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As the Wall Street Journal previously reported, the WHO’s COVID-19 origin findings come amid a pattern of suspicious activity.

The WHO traveled to China in early 2021 with British zoologist Dr. Peter Daszak, who was disbarred last year from doing work for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is accused of using American taxpayer dollars to fund gain-of-function research at the bat lab in Wuhan, China.

Once at the Wuhan lab, Daszak and others were allegedly blocked from doing any of the research necessary to investigate.

Security personnel stand outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Reuters, File)

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As noted by the White House when highlighting a report from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, «The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2» publication — which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory — was prompted by Dr. [Anthony] Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated in nature.

The WHO said it had requested that China share hundreds of genetic sequences from individuals with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, more detailed information about the animals sold at markets in Wuhan, and information on work done and biosafety conditions at laboratories in Wuhan. 

To date, China has not shared this information either with SAGO or the WHO.

A view of the Huanan seafood market, Feb. 9, 2021, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. (Getty Images)

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«I thank each of the 27 members of SAGO for dedicating their time and expertise to this very important scientific undertaking over more than three years,» Ghebreyesus wrote in a statement. «… We continue to appeal to China and any other country that has information about the origins of COVID-19 to share that information openly, in the interests of protecting the world from future pandemics.»

SAGO published its initial findings and recommendations in a report on June 9, 2022. The most recent report updates the evaluation based on peer-reviewed papers and reviews, as well as available unpublished information and field studies, interviews and other reports, including audit findings, government reports and intelligence reports.

Those part of SAGO convened in various formats 52 times, conducted briefings with researchers, academics, journalists and others, according to the WHO.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE:

«As the report says, this is not solely a scientific endeavor, it is a moral and ethical imperative,» Marietjie Venter, chair of the group, wrote in a statement. «Understanding the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and how it sparked a pandemic is needed to help prevent future pandemics, save lives and livelihoods, and reduce global suffering.»

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«The work to understand the origins of SARS-CoV-2 remains unfinished,» the WHO wrote in a statement. «WHO welcomes any further evidence on the origins of COVID-19, and SAGO remains committed to reviewing any new information should it become available.»