House Republicans are intensifying their investigation into former President Biden’s mental fitness, seeking testimony from Anthony Bernal, a former top aide to First Lady Jill Biden, using their subpoena power.
James Comer (R-KY.), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued a subpoena for Bernal to appear on July 16th.
The Trump administration previously suspended legal protections for Biden officials who participate in the investigation, just one day before Bernal was scheduled for a transcribed interview with the committee.
Comer wrote to Bernal on Thursday, stating, “You have rejected the committee’s request, but to move the committee forward.
Surveillance, legislative responsibility, and interest, your testimony are important.”
Comer publicly criticized Bernal for opting out of the scheduled interview with the committee.
“Now that the White House has waived executive privileges, it’s clear that Anthony Bernal, known informally as Jill Biden’s ‘work husband,’ is not being transparent regarding Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and the ensuing cover-up,” Comer mentioned in a statement. “With no privilege left to rely on, Bernal seems anxious to reveal the truth.”
“Americans deserve answers and accountability, and the oversight committee will not tolerate any obstruction,” Comer insisted. “You must appear before the committee to prevent any further delays.”
The role of Bernal in the Biden administration was examined in the book “The Original Crime: The Decline of President Biden, Its Coverage, His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson.
According to the authors, Bernal values loyalty highly and often questions others about their allegiance to Biden. This has led some colleagues to refer to him as part of the “Loyalty Police.”
Comer is looking into understanding who is authorized to use the president’s autopen for signing White House documents while Biden is in office. A source described that, “Five people were running things, and Joe Biden was basically a senior figure on the board.”
Comer called the cover-up of President Biden’s cognitive decline one of the significant scandals in U.S. history. “I stated this earlier this month,” he added, while discussing the expansion of his investigation. He noted that these five senior advisers witnessed President Biden’s condition and operations within the White House.
He is also seeking testimony from key aides, including Michael Donilon, Anita Dunn, Ron Klain, Bruce Reed, and Steve Richetti.
The committee recently interviewed Neera Tanden, a former White House official, who suggested that despite her significant authority, she limited her interactions with President Biden.
Comer remarked that Tanden’s testimony raises serious questions about who was truly making decisions in the White House as the president’s abilities were notably declining.
Last year, Comer’s Committee sought to summon the Biden administration following a contentious presidential debate with Trump and suggested Biden’s re-election campaign faced challenges. The prior administration had resisted relinquishing enforcement privilege to protect White House staff from sharing private discussions with the president.
Axios reported that some familiar with Bernal’s interactions with the House Oversight Panel disputed Comer’s portrayal of Bernal’s attitude toward providing testimony.
“Labeling this as a ‘refusal’ is misleading when there was a request to reschedule the interview,” an unnamed source told Axios.
The official office of the former president has yet to respond to requests for comments.
