President Donald Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether former President Joe Biden's administration sought to conspire to cover up his mental state while in office, prompting a response from Biden.

       "Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency," Biden said in a statement. "I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false."

       The move by the White House represents a significant escalation, as it is a directive to the Justice Department to formally investigate.

       Former President Joe Biden speaks to reporters, after a ceremony, at Veterans Memorial Park, in New Castle, Delaware, U.S. May 30, 2025.

       Ken Cedeno/Reuters

       It goes beyond the review into Biden's last-minute pardons before leaving office.

       Biden responded to Trump's memo to Bondi and the Department of Justice, calling an investigation "nothing more than a mere distraction" and defending his decision-making ability. In a statement he says any suggestion he was not in control is "ridiculous and false."

       President Donald Trump gestures after speaking during a summer soiree on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Washington.

       Alex Brandon/AP

       "This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations," Biden said in a statement sent to ABC News.

       The president directed the U.S.'s top law enforcement official, in coordination with his White House counsel, to investigate "the circumstances surrounding Biden's supposed execution of numerous executive actions during his final years in office," according to a statement from the White House.