White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre waved off criticisms of President Joe Biden’s behavior at a Tuesday afternoon Medal of Honor ceremony recognizing Vietnam veteran Captain Larry Taylor, insisting that his abrupt exit from the event was “as planned.”

Biden, who has been wearing a mask and observing “social distancing” protocols since it was revealed that first lady Jill Biden has once again tested positive for COVID, first raised eyebrows when he had his face covering removed in close proximity to Taylor, 81.

WATCH:

That time Covidian propagandists were all praising Biden for going back to wearing his mask again but then two minutes later he took it off and walked through a crowd of people without it anyway. pic.twitter.com/C7xQl9ShK6

— Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) September 6, 2023

Biden inspired further confusion when — with no announcement, explanation, or fanfare — he walked through the crowd (still sans mask) and out the door, baffling guests and photographers along the way. The ceremony concluded with the benediction prayer several moments after Biden left.

WATCH:

Joe Biden just BOLTED out of the room immediately after awarding the Medal of Honor to Army Captain Larry Taylor.

The ceremony continued on for several minutes afterwards.

Biden completely missed a concluding prayer. pic.twitter.com/BjSdeHcLPD

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 5, 2023

Critics wondered what was happening, calling out the president’s odd departure via X.

“He wasn’t supposed to leave yet. In East Room ceremonies they always ask people to remain in their seats while the president exits when the ceremony is finished. More mental confusion,” the American Enterprise Institute’s Marc Thiessen posted.

“He also starts to leave before saluting, only stops when he sees the salute, then jets. Man …” conservative pundit Stephen Miller added.

But Jean-Pierre insisted that Biden’s exit, though unannounced, was part of a plan to ensure he did not risk exposing other attendees to COVID.

WATCH:

Karine Jean-Pierre says that Joe Biden's mysterious and abrupt exit from the Medal of Honor ceremony yesterday was "as planned." pic.twitter.com/cNmdgAFhb1

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 6, 2023

“The president took off his mask, as I said he would, to deliver some incredibly powerful remarks about this captain, Captain Taylor and what he did in service to our nation,” Jean-Pierre said at Wednesday’s press briefing. “For a brief time afterwards, he also did not have his mask on.”

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Jean-Pierre went on to address Biden’s exit, saying it was “as planned” and had been intended to minimize any possible COVID exposure to the others in attendance.

She doubled down on the issue a short time later.

WATCH:

Karine Jean-Pierre doubles down on Biden's strange exit from the Medal of Honor ceremony yesterday:

"That was done on purpose. That was done very purposefully." pic.twitter.com/HBBtW2BkZS

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 6, 2023

“That was done on purpose, that was done very purposefully so that, again, he wasn’t there for too long,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden had spent some time with Captain Taylor and his family — with everyone wearing masks — in addition to his brief appearance at the ceremony.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) is requesting unfettered access to documents that show communications between President Joe Biden’s office when he was vice president and his son Hunter‘s business partners.

A letter sent on Wednesday to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said Comer’s panel seeks “unrestricted special access” to records that have already been released with redactions pursuant to the Presidential Records Act and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The records were posted to NARA’s website in response to FOIA litigation brought by America First Legal, a group led by Stephen Miller, who served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump.

Comer said the “complete” versions of the documents are relevant to his committee’s investigation into the Biden family and provided a list of specific requests that he asked to be fulfilled by September 20.

The chairman noted some exchanges that have already drawn interest.

“For example, on December 4, 2015, at 10:45 a.m. — in an email with the subject of ‘Quotes’—Eric Schwerin (a longtime Biden family business associate) wrote to Kate Bedingfield in the Office of the Vice President providing quotes the White House should use in response to media outreach regarding Hunter Biden’s role in Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company,” the letter said.

“Later that day — at 2:30 p.m. — Ms. Bedingfield responded to Mr. Schwerin saying, ‘VP signed off on this[.]’  The timing of this email traffic is concerning to the Committee,” the letter added, noting that according to recent testimony by another Biden family associate Devon Archer, “after a Burisma board of directors meeting in Dubai — on the evening of December 4, 2015 (midday in
Washington, D.C.) — Hunter Biden ‘called D.C.’ to discuss pressure that Burisma asked him to relieve.”

In addition to communications between the elder Biden’s vice presidential office and particular individuals known to have been associates of Hunter, including at Ukrainian energy company Burisma, Comer pressed NARA to provide all executive calendars for then-Vice President Biden dating from January 20, 2009, to January 20, 2017 — the entire duration of the Obama administration.

The Daily Wire reached out to NARA seeking comment on the letter and an update on the agency’s response to Comer’s last documents request about President Biden’s alleged use of a fake name.

A NARA spokesperson said the agency received Comer’s request and “will respond in accordance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA), NARA’s implementing regulations, and the governing Executive Order.” NARA also provided a link to a press release discussing the process for how the agency deals with a “special access request.”

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For years, Joe Biden claimed to have never spoken to Hunter about his business dealings, but as the oversight panel uncovered more evidence, the White House has taken to saying the elder Biden never did business with his son — who is facing a criminal inquiry now led by a special counsel. Although Democrats have repeatedly attacked Comer’s probe, it may soon feed into an impeachment inquiry over allegations of corruption.

“Joe Biden never built an ‘absolute wall’ between his family’s business dealings and his official government work – his office doors were wide open to Hunter Biden’s associates. There is evidence of collusion in the efforts to spin media stories about Burisma’s corruption while Vice President Biden was publicly pushing an anti-corruption agenda in Ukraine,” Comer said in a statement.

“Suspiciously, Hunter Biden’s associate had a media statement on Burisma approved by Vice President Biden himself the same day Hunter Biden ‘called D.C.’ for help with the government pressure facing Burisma,” Comer added. “Americans demand accountability for this abuse of government office for the benefit of the Biden family. The Oversight Committee will continue to pursue all evidence to provide much needed transparency to the American people.”