As Matt Margolis reminded us at PJ Media this week, it has now been more than five weeks since Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman disappeared into Walter Reed, supposedly to deal with clinical depression. But nobody has seen him since. The regular “updates” provided by his staff have been, as Matt put it, “about as informative as a Magic 8 Ball.” We are periodically told that Fetterman is “doing better” or “on the road to recovery” and that we should expect him back “after a few more weeks.” But we still haven’t seen so much as a photo of him, to say nothing of even the briefest of interviews so he could update his constituents personally. This week a new conspiracy theory broke out suggesting that Fetterman has been replaced by a body double. I’m not diving down that particular rabbit hole (the photo they used was from last May) but it certainly seems like something quite suspicious is going on.

The bottom line is that Fetterman has now been at Walter Reed for over a month, and there’s still no timeline for his return. So what’s going on?

According to a spokesman for the impaired senator, Fetterman is “on the road to recovery” but will continue to be absent from the Senate for a few more weeks.

“We understand the intense interest in John’s status and especially appreciate the flood of well-wishes,” Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement earlier this week. “However, as we have said, this will be a weeks-long process and while we will be sure to keep folks updated as it progresses, this is all there is to give by way of an update.”

Fetterman and his staff should be able to put an end to the conspiracy theories with great ease if the story we’re being told is accurate. I’m not saying that clinical depression isn’t real or that it doesn’t require treatment. And Fetterman has certainly had enough going on over the past year to drive him in that direction. But even the most depressed person, particularly if they are receiving medical treatment and therapy, should be able to manage a short conversation with a single, friendly reporter.

Or even just a momentary appearance on the other side of a window to give a wave. If this were a hostage situation, we should be able to ask for “proof of life.” Yes, people dealing with medical issues deserve to have their privacy respected. But the man is a member of the United States Senate. Shouldn’t he still feel at least some responsibility to calm the waters?

Here’s another factor to consider. We were assured on March 1st (more than three weeks ago!) that John Fetterman had “introduced legislation” along with Bob Casey and four other members to improve rail safety. This raises two obvious questions. First, we need to believe that a man still dealing with the results of a very serious stroke and severe cognitive and communication issues, along with clinical depression, was spending his time at Walter Reed cranking out a lengthy and complicated piece of legislation. If that’s true and he was working on legislation that long ago when we were told it would be “a few more weeks,” how has he not surfaced yet? And if it wasn’t true, then his staff lied through their teeth. What are they hiding?

Something isn’t right here. The people of Pennsylvania are supposed to have two people representing their interests in the upper chamber. But for all intents and purposes, one of those two people has turned into a ghost for a considerable period of time. If John Fetterman is capable of doing his job, he needs to get back to work or at least personally give his constituents an update on the situation. If he is not capable, he needs to resign. Of course, the Democrats don’t want to do that. Governor Josh Shapiro could appoint another Democrat in his place, but they would face a special election next November and it’s far from a sure thing that they would hold the seat.

Paging John Fetterman. Will John Fetterman please come to one of the white, courtesy (video) phones? Thank you.