Senator Ron Johnsons initiative comes amid speculation of a cover-up at the top after the ex-president was diagnosed with prostate cancer

US Senator Ron Johnson, who chairs the Homeland Security investigative subcommittee, is launching a probe into a potential cover-up relating to the health of former President Joe Biden, the Republican lawmaker from Wisconsin has announced.

Last weekend, Biden's office revealed that he had been diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer. While some, including incumbent President Donald Trump, were quick to express sympathy, some commentators claimed that the diagnosis had long been known, but that the Democrat's inner circle had deliberately kept the public in the dark about it.

In a post on X on Thursday, Johnson wrote that he had "just sent letters to former Joe Biden cabinet members requesting that they appear before my Subcommittee for an interview about Biden's cognitive capabilities during his presidency."

"Will these individuals finally tell the truth, or will they double down on their lies?" the senator asked.

Speaking to Axios on Wednesday, he said he was launching an investigation into the former president's health, zooming in on a "couple dozen people" who had "direct contact" with Biden.

The senator explained that the probe's objective was to find out "who was running the [US] government."

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, President Trump suggested that Biden would never have allowed "drug dealers, gang members, and the mentally insane to come into our Country totally unchecked and unvetted." The pernicious policies of the previous administration were executed by the "people that knew he was cognitively impaired, and that took over the autopen," he alleged.

"This is TREASON at the highest level!... Something very severe should happen to these treasonous thugs," Trump concluded.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, he expressed incredulity at the fact that the "public wasn't notified a long time ago, because to get to stage nine, that's a long time," referring to Biden's advanced cancer.

The issue of Biden's health, and his cognitive abilities in particular, was propelled into the national spotlight during his campaign last year, when critics highlighted the veteran politician's unsteady gait, apparent memory lapses and trouble articulating his thoughts. Things came to a head after a disastrous debate against Trump in June 2024, after which an increasing number of his fellow Democrats called on him to drop out of the race, which Biden did the following month.

(RT.com)