Third Biden aide Ashley Williams hauled in for questioning on ex-prez's mental decline
Special assistant Ashley Williams — who declined to answer reporter questions — was the third Biden ally to appear in front of the committee, giving nearly six hours of closed-door testimony about her time serving as a close aide to the ex-president.
'She's cooperating, otherwise we would've been done,' said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), a staunch Biden defender who said she 'absolutely' wasn't questioning the 82-year-old's cognitive acuity and was the only lawmaker who appeared for Williams' testimony.
The Republican-led probe intends to uncover who had the authority in the Biden White House to authorize executive orders and pardons with the president's signature via an autopen, a mechanical device used at least since the Truman administration to approve official documents.
5 Special assistant Ashley Williams — who declined to answer any reporters' questions — was the third Biden ally to appear in front of the committee.
AP
Before Williams appeared in front of the committee, the Trump White House pulled back her shield of executive privilege, a move that required the ex-Biden aide to provide 'unrestricted testimony' on the former president's cognitive health.
In a shocking development earlier this week, Biden's former physician exercised his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when faced with the committee's probing.
Dr. Kevin O'Connor refused to answer any questions from the panel of representatives and staff — even inquiries that fell outside doctor-patient privilege.
5 'This is unprecedented, and I think that this adds more fuel to the fire that there was a cover-up,' House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters after Biden's personal physician pled the Fifth and departed.
AP
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) later revealed that two of the key questions that O'Connor declined to answer were: 'Were you ever told to lie about the president's health?' and 'Did you ever believe President Biden was unfit to execute his duties?'
Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as former President Obama's physician and authored the book 'Transforming Presidential Healthcare,' told The Post that neither of those questions would violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects the privacy of medical records.
It 'doesn't sound like that's specific health information that they're seeking,' Kuhlman said.
The only fact O'Connor was willing to disclose was his name, opting instead to read a prepared statement invoking his right against self-incrimination for all other questions.
5 'I am not a lawyer, and I must follow my lawyer's advice in this matter,' ex-White House Dr. Kevin O'Connor told Oversight panel members.
REUTERS
'I am not a lawyer, and I must follow my lawyer's advice in this matter,' the doctor told Oversight panel members.
O'Connor was represented by attorney David Schertler, who represented former National Institutes of Health official Dr. Anthony Fauci last year before a subcommittee investigating the origins of COVID-19.
'This is unprecedented, and I think that this adds more fuel to the fire that there was a cover-up,' Comer told reporters after the O'Connor hearing wrapped up.
5 Ex-Biden aide Neera Tanden testified for five hours, also without the protections of executive authority.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
'It's clear there was a conspiracy to cover up President Biden's cognitive decline after Dr. Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician and family business associate, refused to answer any questions and chose to hide behind the Fifth Amendment,' Comer added in a statement later that day.
The next Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday of next week will feature Anthony Bernal, first lady Jill Biden's top aide and 'work husband,' who was subpoenaed for testimony after refusing to appear voluntarily.
Because Bernal was deposed, he will only have two options for each line of inquiry: provide the committee with an answer, or plead the Fifth like O'Connor.
5 Before Williams appeared in front of the committee, the Trump White House pulled back her shield of executive privilege.
The NY Post
Bernal will not be able to skip any questions, which he would have been able to do if he'd come in front of the committee of his own free will.
Ex-Biden aide Neera Tanden testified to the Oversight Committee for five hours on June 24, also without the protections of executive privilege.
After her hearing, Tanden told reporters that there was 'absolutely not' a conspiracy to conceal Biden's eroding mental acuity.
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9 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
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