House Republicans are cranking up the pressure on the White House over suspicions that staffers are trying to cover up potentially damning information about President Joe Biden after his poor debate performance as the 81-year-old runs for a second term.
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced on Wednesday he subpoenaed three of Biden’s aides whom, according to Axios, are believed to have put together a “cocoon” over the president amid concerns about him experiencing a decline in cognitive health.
The trio of White House employees — Ashley Williams, Anthony Bernal, and Annie Tomasini — have created “a protective bubble around” Biden and he is “staffed so closely that he’s lost all independence,” one former staffer told the news outlet.
Biden “relies on staff to nudge him with reminders of who he’s meeting, including former staffers and advisers who Biden should easily remember without a reminder from Annie,” the unnamed source added for the report — which the White House denied was true.
A press release from the GOP-led House Oversight Committee noted Comer previously sought testimony from all three of the staffers for an inquiry into Biden’s handling of classified documents, but the White House refused to make them available for interviews.
“The White House has shielded three key aides from testifying … and now we’ve learned through reporting these same aides are also seeking to cover up President Biden’s declining cognitive state inside the White House,” Comer said in a statement.
“President Biden is clearly unfit for office, yet his staff are trying to hide the truth from the American people,” the chairman added. “Key White House staff must come before our committee so we can provide the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve.”
Comer aims to have a deposition with Williams on July 23, a second one with Bernal on July 24, and a third with Tomasini on July 25. Cover lettersfor the subpoenas note each staffer appears to have “firsthand knowledge” as to whether Biden is capable of leading.
“The Committee seeks this information to explore whether the time has come for Congress to revisit potential legislation to address the oversight of presidents’ fitness to serve pursuant to its authority under Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment,” the letters say.
Comer has also requested White House physician Kevin O’Connor appear before his committee for an interview concerning the president’s health while also citing evidence of the doctor having personal and business tiesto members of the Biden family.
Newsweek reported White House spokesman Ian Sams responded by accusing the House Republicans, who have additionally been leading a corruption-focused impeachment investigation into President Biden, of chasing after “crazy, discredited conspiracy theories.”
After the news broke over the weekend that visitor logs showed a neurologist who is a Parkinson’s disease expert visited the White House several times, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre deniedthe president received treatment for the brain disorder.
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