House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) avoided questions during an interview on Wednesday regarding former President Joe Biden‘s declining mental acuity while in office and its subsequent cover-up.

The questions stem from the new book Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson. The book alleges that Biden didn’t recognize actor and long-time ally George Clooney at a fundraiser in June 2024.

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“According to one rather stunning passage from the book, President Biden didn’t even recognize George Clooney at a fundraiser that the movie star was actually hosting for him,” CNN host Wolf Blitzer asked Jeffries on Wednesday on The Situation Room. “Why should voters trust Democrats when it’s clear so many in your party went to great lengths to keep Biden’s condition hidden from the public?”

Jeffries had no interest in discussing the revelation and quickly tried to steer the discussion to party talking points.

“I can’t tell you what happened between George Clooney and President Biden, I wasn’t at that event. What I can say is that we’re not looking backward,” Jeffries said. “We’re going to continue to look forward, because at this moment, we’ve got real problems that need to be addressed on behalf of the American people, including the Republican effort to snatch away healthcare, snatch away food assistance, and hurt veterans.”

Blitzer, not satisfied with that answer, continued to press the House Minority Leader.

“You interacted with President Biden during those days, those final days he was president of the United States? Did you see, did you sense there was a major deterioration?” Blitzer asked.

“Well, in the conversations that I was able to have on behalf of the House Democratic Caucus in those final days, we simply expressed our perspective as to what would be best for the party at that given moment in time,” Jeffries said. “President Biden subsequently made the decision that he was going to pass the baton to [former] Vice President Kamala Harris. Of course, that was a decision that we supported strongly.”

SMALL NODULE DISCOVERED DURING BIDEN’S LATEST PROSTATE EXAM

Clooney’s Democratic Party fundraiser, held in Los Angeles, California, raised a record $28 million for Biden. The event featured celebrity appearances, including Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, Jack Black, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jason Bateman, and Kathryn Hahn. Musical groups The Silhouettes and Sista Strings were also present, with the latter performing ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’

Following the fundraiser, Clooney flipped against Biden and called for him to step down. Clooney endorsed Harris in the 2024 election.