Latest news with #mentalFitness
Al Arabiya
09-07-2025
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Biden's Former Doctor Refuses to Answer Questions in House Republican Probe
President Joe Biden's former White House physician on Wednesday refused to answer questions as part of the House Republican investigation into Biden's mental fitness and health in office, according to his attorneys. Dr. Kevin O'Connor, who served as Biden's family physician and later as White House doctor, asserted physician–patient privilege as well as his right under the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution in declining to answer questions from members of the House Oversight Committee, his attorneys said. O'Connor's appearance Wednesday came after weeks of back-and-forth over his appearance. A lawyer for the doctor had requested a brief delay in his deposition to sort out questions over physician–patient privilege, but the committee refused and said he had to comply with the subpoena for his testimony. Republicans are conducting a sweeping investigation into Biden's actions in office and questioning whether the Democrat's use of an autopen may have been invalid. Biden has strongly denied that he was not in a right state of mind at any point while in office, calling the claims 'ridiculous' and 'false.'
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Comer subpoenas Jill Biden ‘work husband' for July testimony
House Republicans investigating former President Biden's mental fitness while in office are flexing their subpoena power to get testimony from Anthony Bernal, who was a top aide to former first lady Jill Biden. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena Thursday for a deposition from Bernal on July 16 after Bernal, who was reportedly so close to the former first lady that he was referred to as her 'work husband,' notified the committee Wednesday that he would not take part in an interview that was scheduled Thursday. President Trump's administration suspended legal protections for Biden officials testifying in the probe the day before Bernal was to take part in a transcribed interview with the committee. 'You have refused the Committee's request. However, to advance the Committee'soversight and legislative responsibilities and interests, your testimony is critical,' Comer wrote in a Thursday letter to Bernal. Comer had blasted Bernal publicly Wednesday after he said he'd skip the committee's scheduled interview with him. 'Now that the White House has waived executive privilege, it's abundantly clear that Anthony Bernal — Jill Biden's so-called 'work husband' — never intended to be transparent about Joe Biden's cognitive decline and the ensuing cover-up,' Comer said in a statement. 'With no privilege left to hide behind, Mr. Bernal is now running scared, desperate to bury the truth.' 'The American people deserve answers and accountability, and the Oversight Committee will not tolerate this obstruction,' Comer added. 'To avoid any further delays, your appearance before the Committee is now compelled.' Bernal's influence in the Biden administration was detailed in the book 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again' by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson. 'He considered loyalty to be the defining virtue and would wield that word to elevate some and oust others – at times fairly and at times not. 'Are you a Biden person?' he would ask West Wing aides. 'Is so-and-so a Biden person?' The regular interrogations led some colleagues to dub him the leader of the 'loyalty police,'' the reporters wrote. Comer has questioned who had authority to use the presidential autopen to sign off on White House actions while Biden was in office. The 'Original Sin' authors wrote that one source told them that 'five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.' 'The cover-up of President Biden's mental decline is one of the greatest scandals in our nation's history,' Comer said earlier this month in announcing the expansion of his investigation. 'These five former senior advisers were eyewitnesses to President Biden's condition and operations within the Biden White House.' He also has sought testimony from top Biden aides Michael Donilon, Anita Dunn, Ron Klain, Bruce Reed and Steve Ricchetti. The panel privately interviewed Neera Tanden, who was the former president's staff secretary, earlier this week. Comer said Tanden revealed 'she had minimal interaction with President Biden, despite wielding tremendous authority.' 'Her testimony raises serious questions about who was really calling the shots in the Biden White House amid the President's obvious decline,' the Oversight chair said. Comer's committee sought to subpoena Bernal last year after then-President Biden faltered in the presidential debate with Trump and ultimately dropped his reelection bid, but the Biden administration refused to waive executive privilege that shields White House staffers from divulging private conversations with presidents. Axios reported that a person familiar with Bernal's interactions with the House Oversight panel disputed Comer's characterization of Bernal's stance on testifying. 'Calling this a 'refusal' is misleading, when there was simply a request to reschedule the interview,' the person, whom Axios did not name, told the outlet. The former president's official office didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Conservatives react to leaked Biden audio on social media: 'This is painful'
Leaked audio from a 2023 interview between then-President Joe Biden and Special Counsel Robert Hur surfaced on Friday, revealing significant memory lapses and cognitive challenges. The audio recordings, obtained by Axios, depict Biden struggling to recall key dates, including the year his son Beau died and the year Donald Trump was elected president. The audio leaks have intensified criticisms over Biden's mental fitness and prompted reactions from conservative commentators and political figures on social media site X. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk called for further scrutiny toward Democrats, writing X, "Nobody can listen to it without concluding that every Democrat working with Biden HAS to have known he was completely feeble as a commander in chief."Fox News contributor Guy Benson called the audio "Painful." "I couldn't keep listening. The smears of Hur and the defenses of Biden look even worse," Benson said. Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones III called for accountability, writing on X, "We need a Biden commission. The entire cabinet and White House staff must be sworn under oath." Former NYPD inspector Paul Mauro commented on the administration's reluctance to release the audio, saying, "This is wonder Biden's DOJ wouldn't release it." Fox News contributor and radio host Hugh Hewitt highlighted the national security implications, stating, "Do not blame the president for aging quickly and poorly. But everyone involved in the cover-up put the country at risk because what we knew, all of our country's enemies knew. They probably knew much of what we, the citizens, didn't. The 25th failed." Jake Schneider with the White House Rapid Response team emphasized prior warnings about Biden's fitness, writing on X, "We tried to tell you. We literally spent years trying to tell you. Please stop acting shocked that Biden was senile, incompetent, and unfit for office." Ambassador and Chief of Protocol to the U.S. Monica Crowley labeled the situation the "BIGGEST SCANDAL IN U.S. HISTORY." Brit Hume, Chief Political Analyst for the Fox News Channel reminded everyone, saying "As you read this thread, recall all the crap Biden partisans said about Robert Hur at the time."
