‘There is now a pattern of key Biden confidants seeking to shield themselves from criminal liability for this potential conspiracy,’ Oversight Committee chairman says
Joe Biden’s former deputy chief of staff, Annie Tomasini, pleaded the Fifth during a congressional deposition on Friday, becoming the third Biden aide to refuse to testify in the House GOP’s investigation into the former president’s mental acuity.
Tomasini declined to answer whether, during her time in the Biden administration, the White House “instructed her to lie” about Biden’s health, the New York Post reported. “There is now a pattern of key Biden confidants seeking to shield themselves from criminal liability for this potential conspiracy,” House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) said at the deposition.
Former White House physician Kevin O’Connor—who gave Biden clean bills of health throughout his term—refused to testify last week, citing physician-patient privilege and his Fifth Amendment rights. On Wednesday, former first lady Jill Biden’s chief of staff, Anthony Bernal, followed suit in not answering questions from House Republicans.
“It’s apparent they would rather hide key information to protect themselves and Joe Biden than be truthful with the American people about this historic scandal,” Comer said Friday.
The former aides’ refusal to testify comes as reports have shed light on Biden’s mental and physical decline.
Biden appeared “extremely exhausted” and “unaware of what was happening in his own campaign” ahead of his debate last June with Trump, longtime Biden aide Ron Klain said, according to Chris Whipple’s recent book Uncharted. Klain had to cut short the two mock debates he had organized for Biden and was “struck by how out of touch with American politics” the then-president was.
“At one point … Biden wanders out in the middle of the session, he wanders out to the pool, collapses into a lounge chair, and falls sound asleep,” Whipple told Fox News host Jesse Watters.
Biden has also faced scrutiny for repeatedly relying on an autopen to sign off on presidential actions amid concerns about his health. The New York Times reported Sunday that Biden “did not individually approve” the names of thousands of federal convicts granted clemency, instead allowing his staff to finalize the sweeping pardons and commutations using an autopen.
According to Comer, Tomasini on Friday also invoked the Fifth “when asked if she ever advised President Biden on the handling of classified documents found in his garage, if President Biden or anyone in the White House instructed her to conceal or destroy classified material found at President Biden’s home or office, and if she ever conspired with anyone in the White House to hide information regarding the Biden family’s ‘business’ dealings.”
Klain is expected to testify next week, while other members of Biden’s inner circle—including former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre—are scheduled to appear before the House committee beginning in August, according to the Post. The Trump administration in late June formally waived executive privilege for nine former Biden aides, clearing the way for their testimony.
Read the full article here
