Was numerous visits by Parkinson’s specialist for Biden?

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Questions over Joe Biden’s cognitive health ramped up Monday after it was revealed that a Parkinson’s specialist had visited the White House numerous times in the past year.

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden has taken a neurological exam three times as part of a physical exam since becoming president, with the last review of his overall health coming in February.

“He has seen a neurologist three times,” Jean-Pierre said during the press briefing. “Not more than that.”

However, White House visitor logs indicate Kevin Cannard, a longtime neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, has made eight visits between July 2023 and March, according to multiple media reports.

Jean-Pierre said she couldn’t divulge whether Cannard was visiting Biden or other staff, citing security reasons.

“There are thousands of military personnel who come on to this White House,” Jean-Pierre told the assembled reporters. “Many of them get the care from the White House medical unit and so we need to be super careful.”

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On Monday night, the White House released a letter from Biden’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, that said Cannard last performed a cognitive test on the U.S. president in January, ahead of his annual physical.

That exam didn’t find any Parkinson’s or other neurological disorders for the 81-year-old president, the letter said.

“His findings have been made public each time I have released the results of the President’s annual physical,” O’Connor wrote. “President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical.”

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The letter also said Dr. Cannard also treats many military personnel and regularly visits the White House medical unit as part of his practice.

According to the Washington Post, former members of the White House medical unit said Dr. Cannard has treated Cabinet members and other senior staff, mainly for migraines.

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“As a neurologist, he had a limited amount of options available for treatment, but migraines were a lot of what he treated,” one of the former staffers said.

On Sunday, Republicans in the House of Representatives called for O’Connor to testify why a cognitive test hasn’t been ordered for Biden following his poor debate performance late last month.

The White House has declined to make O’Connor or any of Biden’s doctors available to the media.

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