(WASHINGTON) — Annie Tomasini on Friday became the third Biden administration official to plead the Fifth Amendment in a House panel’s investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental fitness and use of a presidential autopen while in office.
Tomasini was called on to appear before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee for a closed-door interview.
Tomasini, who served as the deputy chief of staff to Biden, invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions, according to Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.
Comer, who did not attend the hearing on Friday, subsequently criticized what he called a “pattern of key Biden confidants seeking to shield themselves from criminal liability.”
“It’s unbelievable that Ms. Tomasini and others refuse to answer basic questions about President Biden’s fitness to serve. 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 in a statement.
Tomasini didn’t take questions from reporters as she left the Rayburn House Office Building Friday.
Tomasini’s lawyer provided a statement to the committee, which was obtained by ABC News, on her reasons for invoking the Fifth Amendment.
“The Committee has asked Ms. Tomasini to testify in connection with an investigation into use of the autopen,” the statement, signed by Tomasini’s counsel Jonathan Su, read. “There is no actual evidence of wrongdoing by Ms. Tomasini, and President Biden has already confirmed that he made all decisions concerning the grants of clemency at the end of his term.”
“It is well known that there is an ongoing federal criminal investigation into this matter by the Department of Justice, ordered by the current White House,” the statement continued. “This past week, the Chairman suggested that it is ‘very possible’ the investigation could generate criminal referrals to the Department of Justice. Under these circumstances, any reasonable person would seriously consider an invocation of their Fifth Amendment rights.”
The House panel has requested several interviews with former Biden officials as part of their probe.
Earlier this week, Anthony Bernal, who served as assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady in the Biden administration, also invoked the Fifth Amendment in his deposition.
“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,” Bernal’s lawyer wrote in a letter to the committee obtained by ABC News.
After Bernal’s deposition, Comer told reporters that former Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady Jill Biden “should” be subpoenaed in the committee’s probe.
The House panel had also subpoenaed Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s White House physician, for testimony.
O’Connor, too, declined to answer questions when he briefly appeared before the committee for a transcribed interview. He cited both the Fifth Amendment and physician-patient privilege. After, the House Oversight Committee took the unprecedented step of releasing a video of the deposition that occurred behind closed doors.
The committee also released a video of Bernal’s deposition and is likely to do so for Tomasini as well.
Neera Tanden, who served as the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under Biden, sat for several hours of testimony in late June. When asked after by reporters if there was an effort to disguise Biden’s condition, Tanden replied: “Absolutely not.”
Biden himself rejected reports of cognitive decline during an appearance on ABC’s “The View” in early May.
“They are wrong. There’s nothing to sustain that,” Biden said at the time.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
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