Former President Joe Biden’s physician is being accused of attempting to avoid testifying before Congress, despite receiving a subpoena to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The committee is investigating the Biden White House’s efforts to obscure concerns about Biden’s mental and physical health.
The panel is also probing whether there was unauthorized use of an autopen to sign official documents.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor was initially invited to participate voluntarily, but after he declined, the committee issued a subpoena. Through his lawyer, O’Connor argued that “substantial privilege and confidentiality interests” prevent him from explaining how his public assessment of Biden’s health aligns with reports that White House operations were circumventing the president. NBC reported that O’Connor’s attorney, David Schertler, wrote in a letter dated Saturday:
“It would be an unnecessary spectacle to require Dr. O’Connor to testify before your Committee next week without any accommodations for the well-established doctrine of doctor-patient confidentiality and to subject himself to potential criminal prosecution for contempt of Congress for doing the right thing — honoring his legal and ethical obligations to a patient.”
A committee representative rejected that reasoning, calling it “another delay tactic to stonewall the Oversight Committee’s investigation.”
“To the extent that Dr. O’Connor wishes to assert privilege in response to specific questions, the Oversight Committee will follow that process at the deposition,” the representative said.
“Dr. O’Connor is not permitted to disregard a congressional deposition subpoena because he believes he may be asked questions that, in his view, will implicate privileged information.”
Fox News reported that the committee will proceed with Wednesday’s meeting regardless of O’Connor’s attendance.
The subpoena letter stated the committee had questions about O’Connor’s February 2024 assessment, which described Biden as “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.” The committee also wants to know whether O’Connor’s relationship with the Biden family may have influenced his evaluation.
“Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee sought to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden’s fitness to serve from the American people,” the letter said.
The committee has already heard from former White House aides and is continuing to seek testimony. Anthony Bernal, a former aide to Jill Biden, declined to appear and has also been subpoenaed. Last month, interviews were requested from former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, along with Ian Sams, Andrew Bates, and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer of Kentucky stated:
“President Biden’s inner circle repeatedly told the American people that he was ‘sharp as ever,’ dismissing any commentary about his obvious mental decline as ‘gratuitous.’ They fed these false talking points to progressive allies and the media, who helped perpetuate that President Biden was fit to serve.”
“As part of our aggressive investigation into the cover-up of his cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized executive actions, we must hear from those who aided and abetted this farce.”
