Parkinson's doctor visited White House eight times in eight-month period, records show

WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused Monday to explain a Parkinson’s expert’s series of recent visits to the executive mansion — citing “security reasons” despite the visitor logs being public.

During tense exchanges at her regular briefing, Jean-Pierre refused to say what those security concerns surrounding Dr. Kevin Cannard’s eight visits over eight months visits might be, and at one point accused correspondents of engaging in “personal attacks.”

“There are thousands of military personnel who come onto this White House, many of them get the care from the White House Medical Unit. And so we need to be super careful,” the press secretary said.

“The medical unit hosts a wide range of specialists, from dermatologists to neurologists, and so I cannot speak to every person because there are actually security reasons to protect their privacy.”

The White House residence has a small doctor’s office where Biden is seen. There’s a larger doctor’s office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is considered part of the White House complex — likely accounting for Jean-Pierre’s claim of “thousands” of troops being treated there.

Cannard’s visits included a January meeting with presidential physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor that was first highlighted Saturday by The Post in the wake of the president’s disastrous June 27 debate performance, at which he appeared confused and made nonsensical remarks.

Biden had a physical in February and the White House said afterward that he did not have Parkinson’s.

Jean-Pierre said at the briefing that Biden has only seen a neurologist three times as president at each of his annual physical exams, but painstakingly avoided ruling out the possibility that Cannard was visiting the White House to consult on Biden’s health.

“They’re in the White House visitor logs. It’s public! I looked it up before I came out here. It is right there for anyone to see,” Ed O’Keefe of CBS News pointed out.

“I cannot from here confirm any of that because we have to keep their privacy. I think they would appreciate that too,” Jean-Pierre maintained.

“The patient or the doctor?” O’Keefe pressed.

“We have to keep their privacy,” Jean-Pierre replied, without answering the question.”It is public,” reiterated NBC News correspondent Kelly O’Donnell, while O’Keffe exclaimed that “you’re going to allow this to fester longer, Karine, unless the White House just answers the question!”

Jean-Pierre chided O’Keefe that “there’s no reason to go back and forth at me in this aggressive way.”

“We’re a little miffed around here about how information has been shared with the press corps about him!” shot back O’Keefe, noting Jean-Pierre had previously provided incomplete information about whether Biden had medical check-ups following the debate.

“I am telling you right now I am not sharing, confirming names from here,” she repeated. “It is for security reasons. I am not going to do that, Ed. It doesn’t matter how hard you push me. it doesn’t matter how angry you get with me.

“I am not going to confirm a name, it doesn’t matter if it’s even in the log,” Jean-Pierre concluded.

Later, O’Donnell pointed out that reporters were merely “seeking clarity” and noted that Biden could choose to make his medical records immediately by waiving his protections under federal law.

“One part of the reason we are pressing here is that we are not clear, on what has happened,” O’Donnell said. “And therefore, the American people to whom we report don’t have a sense. So that’s what we’re trying to do.”

“Personal attacks is not OK,” Jean-Pierre added. “Want to be very, very clear here.”

Dr. Cannard, who works at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, has made early morning visits to the White House residence clinic seven times between July 2023 and March 2024 to meet with Megan Nasworthy, who coordinates primary care visits for the president and his family.

An eighth meeting, which The Post first reported on Saturday, took place at 5 p.m. Jan. 17 with physician to the president Dr. Kevin O’Connor and Dr. John E. Atwood, a cardiologist at Walter Reed.

Cannard also met at the White House with Joshua Simmons, an emergency medical specialist at Walter Reed, in November 2022.

The close proximity of the visits were first reported by the New York Times.

Cannard has worked at Walter Reed since 1998, according to his LinkedIn page, and has been a neurology consultant to the White House medical unit since March 2008.

The doctor’s most recent paper — “Eleven-year outcomes from the deep brain stimulation in early-stage Parkinson’s disease pilot clinical trial” — was published in August 2023.

“A wide variety of specialists from the Walter Reed system visit the White House complex to treat the thousands of military personnel who work on the grounds,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates told The Post.

Bates added that Biden’s annual physical at Walter Reed, which took place in February, involved “multiple specialists” including a neurologist — but the names of those doctors and dates of those visits would not be disclosed.

“As each report has stated, that examination has found no sign of Parkinson’s, and he is not being treated for it,” Bates said, noting also “there have been no neurologist visits besides the one for his physical per year, three in total.”

Following a more than two-hour annual physical on Feb. 28, Biden said: “There is nothing different than last year.”

O’Connor released a six-page written assessment that noted, “The exam did again support a finding of peripheral neuropathy in both feet. No motor weakness was detected.”

“An extremely detailed neurologic exam was again reassuring in that there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy,” O’Connor also wrote.

“The president doesn’t need a cognitive test. That is not my assessment, that is the assessment of the president’s doctor, that is also the assessment of his neurologist,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press conference the same day.

“I have a neurological test every single day,” Biden echoed on Monday in a phone interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” using one of his favored lines to claim adeptness for the job of president.

Biden’s cognitive acuity and readiness to take on former President Donald Trump, 78, in the 2024 election have come under intense scrutiny from members of the media and Democratic lawmakers and strategists since his debate flop on June 27.

The oldest-ever president tripped over his own words at several points and agonizingly froze up before delivering a non sequitur in response to a critical line of questioning about his handling of entitlement programs.

Nine House Democrats have since urged Biden to withdraw from the race.