Ian Sams, who served as a spokesman in the White House counsel’s office from May 2022 through August 2024, told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Aug. 21, 2025, that "nothing in my experience at the White House or in my interactions with the president indicated that he was anything other than able to execute the duties of his office." Sams made the remarks during a transcribed interview requested by Chairman James Comer as part of the committee's inquiry into President Joe Biden's fitness to serve and related questions arising from Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report.

Sams said he met the president “a handful of times” and that his interactions were infrequent. "When I deal with him, he is sharp," Sams told committee counsel, describing his assessments as limited to those personal meetings. He said he did not travel on Air Force One or Marine One with the president, did not attend the daily senior 8 a.m. staff meeting, and generally had an "external-facing" communications role that involved responding to reporters and coordinating with legal advisers and the White House press office.

Why it matters: The committee is probing whether White House staff or others directed or took executive actions without the president's authorization and is examining how the president's physical or cognitive health may have affected decision-making and communications. Sams' testimony provides firsthand context about who in the White House handled communications about the special counsel investigation and how officials interpreted and responded to the Hur report.

Key points from Sams's testimony

- Meetings and access: Sams said he met President Biden "a handful of times," recalled meetings about Hunter Biden's congressional interview, Special Counsel Hur's public testimony and report, and planning for a speech after a Supreme Court immunity decision. He said attendees he remembered included Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and White House counsel (Ed Siskel), though he did not participate in the president’s private legal negotiations.

- No directive to lie; no knowledge of unauthorized executive acts: When asked, Sams said no one directed him to lie and he had no awareness of anyone in the White House issuing executive orders, pardons or other official actions without the president's knowledge or authorization. On questions about an "auto-pen" (an automated signing device), he said, "I have no knowledge of the auto pen and how that was used."

- Role in communications and approvals: Sams described a mix of autonomy and review: routine tweets and on-camera remarks by a senior spokesman could be made without formal sign-off, but formal public statements and sensitive messaging were typically circulated for review — often including the White House counsel’s office — before release.

- Special Counsel Robert Hur report: Sams said he and the White House counsel’s office reviewed the Hur report and transcript of the president’s interview. He said the White House objected to characterizations in the report that described the president as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," and other language linking the president's memory to prosecutorial decisions. Sams testified the legal team sent letters to the special counsel objecting to those passages and that he had flagged portions of the transcript (date/memory references) as likely to draw press attention.

- Interaction with Hunter Biden representatives: Sams said he had limited contacts with Hunter Biden’s counsel Abby Lowell, primarily to refer reporters to the appropriate representatives; he denied involvement in Hunter Biden's legal strategy.

- Pardon and clemency: Sams said he was not involved in pardon decision-making and that during his tenure his understanding was the president had stated publicly he would not pardon Hunter Biden; Sams said he had no knowledge of the later actions that the committee referenced.

- Messaging during the oversight investigation: Sams acknowledged issuing public statements and tweets criticizing the committee’s witnesses at times, saying his role was to "respond to allegations" about the president. He described communications planning around the Hur report and said the White House sought to counter characterizations of the president’s memory that it considered unfair or politically inflammatory.

Quotes

"Nothing in my experience at the White House or in my interactions with the president indicated that he was anything other than able to execute the duties of his office," Ian Sams, former spokesman, White House Counsel's Office.

"When I deal with him, he is sharp," Ian Sams, describing the limited number of meetings in which he personally interacted with President Biden.

What Sams did not say

Sams repeatedly said he was not part of legal negotiations and did not prepare the president for his interview with the special counsel. He said he did not draft the legal letters sent to the special counsel or the attorney general and did not have knowledge that would allow him to answer questions about privileged attorney-client deliberations. He also said he did not have knowledge that executive actions were issued without the president's authorization.

Committee context and next steps

Committee questioning identified White House lawyers (including Ed Siskel, Bob Bauer and Richard Sauber) as officials with greater legal familiarity with the special counsel's materials; members suggested the committee seek interviews with those lawyers for legal detail. Chairman Comer’s office presented exhibits, including a letter dated Aug. 21, 2025, described in the record as a transmission about executive privilege and presidential immunity addressed to counsel for the witness.

Sams appeared voluntarily and the interview was transcribed. The committee paused periodically for breaks and moved between majority and minority rounds of questioning. No formal committee vote or legal determination occurred during the interview.

Ending

Sams told the committee he was appearing voluntarily and said he had not discussed the substance of the interview with other former White House staff. The committee indicated it may pursue follow-up witness interviews with senior White House lawyers to establish the legal record underlying communications and decisions discussed during Sams’s appearance.