An author with insider knowledge of the Biden administration believes that there was no “dastardly cover-up” of former President Joe Biden‘s condition, with the saga better explained by dysfunctional group dynamics.

Chris Whipple, author of the book Uncharted, about the 2024 election campaign, said in an interview with Fox News that Biden’s inner circle wasn’t as capable or malicious as Republican lawmakers are making them out to be. He accused them of being in denial until it was too late.

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“The notion that this was somehow, you know, Biden’s last year was Weekend at Bernie’s and that there he was non compos mentis and there was a cabal running the country with an autopen is just silly,” he said.

“The notion that [Republicans are] going to be able to prove that there was this dastardly cover-up on the part of Biden’s inner circle is just crazy to me. I think the answer is that this thing goes nowhere,“ Whipple added.

Whipple spoke with White House insiders throughout the campaign, including after the former president’s infamous debate performance. Among his sources was former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who testified before House lawmakers as part of their investigation into an alleged cover-up.

Klain told the committee he believed Biden was fit to serve but acknowledged he appeared tired and sick before the debate, adding that he does not have knowledge of him taking Ambien, according to a source familiar with the testimony. Klain acknowledged Biden had lost some energy and his memory had gotten worse. However, the source said Klain did not believe Biden was too old to run for president.

Whipple said in his Friday interview that Klain is currently “in the doghouse” with Biden and his allies.

Rather than a malicious cover-up, Whipple believes Biden’s inner circle was crippled by a “fog of denial,” choosing to believe what they wanted to.

“They [just] convinced themselves, in effect, they believed what they wanted to believe instead of their lying eyes, even during the debate when everything went south,” he argued.

RON KLAIN, FORMER BIDEN CHIEF OF STAFF, TESTIFIES IN HOUSE OVERSIGHT AUTOPEN INVESTIGATION

“Despite that devastating debate, which was lights out, game over, everybody knew it, Klain was still all in on Joe Biden’s nomination and reelection and somehow thought he could beat Trump,” Whipple added.

Republicans have been increasingly aggressive in investigating the Biden administration and its handling of the former president, particularly after damning evidence of his decline has continued to emerge following the 2024 election. CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson’s book, “Original Sin,” which chronicled the alleged cover-up around Biden, helped renew interest in Biden’s mental decline during his time in office.