(WASHINGTON) — House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told reporters that former Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady Jill Biden “should” be subpoenaed in the panel’s investigation into former President Joe Biden‘s mental capacity while in office after another top Biden official pleaded the Fifth today.
“Well, I think they should,” Comer told ABC when asked if the committee should subpoena Harris and Jill Biden. “They should have already issued statements. They should have already done public relations campaign to sit down and answer questions. They should go on FOX, they should go on CNN and answer questions.”
Comer also said the committee has scheduled a slate of depositions with former Biden officials in the GOP’s investigation of the Biden administration’s use of the presidential auto-pen. At President Donald Trump’s urging, Republicans have taken aim at Biden’s clemency actions signed during his final hours in office — wondering whether staff acted on their own accord or at the direction of the president.
“So we’re going to bring in everyone. We’re moving up the line,” Comer later added. “So we’ve started with the lower-level staffers that we think were the ones that actually put the documents in the autopen and pressed power. Now we’re moving up to the people that we think told the staffers to use the autopen. So we’ll — we’ll see where that takes us. But I think the possibility is very good that — that we’ll be asking members of the family to come in and talk.”
Anthony Bernal, a veteran aide of three Democratic presidential administrations — Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden — whose service culminated as assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady, on Wednesday invoked the Fifth Amendment twice during a closed-door deposition before the committee investigating former President Biden’s mental capacity while in office.
“Well, unfortunately, that was quick,” Comer said after the deposition. “This is the second witness that we’ve brought in via subpoena for a deposition that has pleaded the Fifth and they’ve stated they’re not going to answer questions.”
In a letter obtained by ABC News, Bernal’s lawyer told the committee he invoked the Fifth Amendment, arguing “it is entirely appropriate and justified for Mr. Bernal to invoke his rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.”
“The record is also clear that persons of the full range of the political spectrum, in recent and historical Congressional investigations, have invoked their Fifth Amendment rights to decline to answer questions from Congress. Any suggestion that such an invocation is itself evidence of wrongdoing would be highly irresponsible and flatly wrong, particularly from those elected to represent the people and uphold the Constitution,” the letter states.
Bernal “respectfully” declined to answer any of the committee’s questions in the deposition, according to the letter.
The committee believes Bernal may have insight into the Biden’s cognitive decline — as he was one of just four aides present at Biden’s beach home in Rehoboth, Del., last July when Biden decided to drop his bid for reelection amid overwhelming pressure from the Democratic Party following his disastrous debate performance against Trump the month before.
Last week, Biden’s former White House physician, Kevin O’Connor, also pleaded the Fifth and asserted patient-doctor confidentiality in response to questions from Republican investigators.
Another Republican present at Wednesday’s deposition, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, expressed disdain for Bernal’s testimony — calling it “crazy.”
“First thing’s first, that’s just crazy,” Donalds began. “You can’t answer a simple question about the former president’s ability to discharge duties and you worked in the White House as chief of staff to the first lady.”
Donalds corroborated Comer’s statement that Bernal pleaded the Fifth and added that he did not read his own testimony, which was read by his lawyer.
“He can say whatever he wants in his testimony, by the way his attorney read,” Donalds said. “He wouldn’t even read his own statement, his attorney read his statement for him.”
Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas said “They still look like losers” of her Republican colleagues as she left the Bernal deposition.
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