When Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July 2024, Democrats breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Kamala Harris' early momentum quickly subsided pointing to a tight election. Donald Trump ended up winning comfortably to return to the White House for a second term.
Attention and blame soon turned to Mr Biden and his inner circle, as his close aides and family were accused of covering up his declining mental and physical capacity.
This issue is once again highlighted in the highly-anticipated book 'Original Sin', by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios journalist Alex Thompson, which contains alarming stories about Mr Biden's mental and physical state as he continued to insist he would run for re-election, and beat Mr Trump again.
The authors interviewed 200 Democratic insiders for the book.
It is due for release on May 20th, but many US outlets have reported on large sections of the book after receiving advanced copies.
One of the allegations included Mr Biden regularly forgetting the names of aides and contacts.
These included Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser.
Another story involves Mr Biden not recognising the actor George Clooney at a fundraiser. The pair had been friends for years, and Clooney was said to be "shaken to his core" after the incident.
Clooney notably called on Mr Biden to drop out of the presidential race before the former president made his decision in July 2024.
The book also outlines how Mr Biden's inner circle, led by his wife Jill Biden, sought to hide his declining health.
This became impossible after Mr Biden's disastrous performance in a debate with Mr Trump on CNN in June 2024.
Another passage describes his staff discussing whether Mr Biden would need to use a wheelchair during a potential second term.
The book's publication will raise more questions for a Democratic Party which is still reeling after Mr Trump's election win, with no obvious leader coming forward.
