White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday refused to address the specifics behind eight recent visits by a Parkinson’s specialist to the White House, citing “security reasons” despite the visitor logs being publicly accessible.
In a tense press briefing, Jean-Pierre did not elaborate on the nature of these security concerns surrounding Dr. Kevin Cannard’s visits. At one point, she accused the press of making “personal attacks.”
“There are thousands of military personnel who come onto this White House, many of them get care from the White House Medical Unit. And so we need to be super careful,” Jean-Pierre said.
“The medical unit hosts a wide range of specialists, from dermatologists to neurologists, and so I cannot speak to every person because there are actually security reasons to protect their privacy,” she added.
The White House has a small doctor’s office where Biden is treated, and a larger one in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is considered part of the White House complex. This likely explains Jean-Pierre’s assertion about “thousands” of troops being treated there.
Cannard’s visits, including a January meeting with presidential physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, were highlighted after Biden’s poor performance in the June 27 debate, where he appeared confused and made incoherent remarks.
Biden had a physical in February, after which the White House stated he did not have Parkinson’s.
Jean-Pierre said that Biden has only seen a neurologist three times as president, during his annual physical exams, but she avoided confirming if Cannard was visiting for consultations on Biden’s health.
“They’re in the White House visitor logs. It’s public! I looked it up before I came out here. It is right there for anyone to see,” CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe pointed out.
“I cannot from here confirm any of that because we have to keep their privacy. I think they would appreciate that too,” Jean-Pierre responded.
“The patient or the doctor?” O’Keefe pressed.
“We have to keep their privacy,” Jean-Pierre replied, evading the question. “It is public,” reiterated NBC News correspondent Kelly O’Donnell, while O’Keefe exclaimed, “You’re going to allow this to fester longer, Karine, unless the White House just answers the question!”
Jean-Pierre scolded O’Keefe, saying, “There’s no reason to go back and forth at me in this aggressive way.”
“We’re a little miffed around here about how information has been shared with the press corps about him!” O’Keefe retorted, referencing previous incomplete information from Jean-Pierre about Biden’s medical check-ups post-debate.
“I am telling you right now I am not sharing, confirming names from here,” she repeated. “It is for security reasons. I am not going to do that, Ed. It doesn’t matter how hard you push me. It doesn’t matter how angry you get with me.
“I am not going to confirm a name, it doesn’t matter if it’s even in the log,” Jean-Pierre concluded.
Later, O’Donnell highlighted that reporters were merely “seeking clarity,” noting that Biden could release his medical records by waiving his federal protections.
“One part of the reason we are pressing here is that we are not clear on what has happened,” O’Donnell said. “And therefore, the American people to whom we report don’t have a sense. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”
“Personal attacks are not OK,” Jean-Pierre added. “Want to be very, very clear here.”
Dr. Cannard, who works at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, has made early morning visits to the White House residence clinic seven times between July 2023 and March 2024 to meet with Megan Nasworthy, who coordinates primary care visits for the president and his family.
An eighth meeting, first reported by The Post on Saturday, took place at 5 p.m. on January 17 with physician to the president Dr. Kevin O’Connor and Dr. John E. Atwood, a cardiologist at Walter Reed.
Cannard also met at the White House with Joshua Simmons, an emergency medical specialist at Walter Reed, in November 2022. The close timing of these visits was first reported by the New York Times.
Cannard has been at Walter Reed since 1998, according to his LinkedIn page, and has been a neurology consultant to the White House medical unit since March 2008.
His most recent paper, “Eleven-year outcomes from the deep brain stimulation in early-stage Parkinson’s disease pilot clinical trial,” was published in August 2023.
“A wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told The Post.
Bates noted that Biden’s annual physical at Walter Reed, which took place in February, involved “multiple specialists” including a neurologist, but he declined to disclose the names of those doctors or the dates of their visits.
“As each report has stated, that examination has found no sign of Parkinson’s, and he is not being treated for it,” Bates said, adding, “There have been no neurologist visits besides the one for his physical per year, three in total.”
Following a more than two-hour annual physical on February 28, Biden said, “There is nothing different than last year.”
O’Connor released a six-page assessment stating, “The exam did again support a finding of peripheral neuropathy in both feet. No motor weakness was detected.”
“An extremely detailed neurologic exam was again reassuring in that there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy,” O’Connor also wrote.
“The president doesn’t need a cognitive test. That is not my assessment, that is the assessment of the president’s doctor, that is also the assessment of his neurologist,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press conference on the same day.
“I have a neurological test every single day,” Biden echoed on Monday in a phone interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” using one of his favored lines to assert his competency for the presidency.
Biden’s cognitive fitness and readiness to face former President Donald Trump, 78, in the 2024 election have come under intense scrutiny from the media and Democratic lawmakers and strategists since his poor debate performance on June 27.
The oldest-ever president stumbled over his words multiple times and painfully froze before giving a nonsensical response to a critical question about his handling of entitlement programs.
Nine House Democrats have since urged Biden to withdraw from the race.
{Matzav.com}