Former White House doctor, Kevin O’Connor has refused to answer questions on the declining cognitive health of former US president Joe Biden on Wednesday, exercising his constitutional right under the Fifth Amendment for self-incrimination. Dr O’Connor swiftly left the House office building after what was intended to be a transcribed interview with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee behind closed doors, as per the Washington Times. “‘Were you ever told to lie about the president’s health?’ He pleaded the Fifth Amendment,” said Oversight chairman James Comer while referring to the two questions that were asked to O’Connor. “‘Did you ever believe President Biden was unfit to execute his duties?’ Again, President Biden’s White House physician pleaded the Fifth Amendment.” the chairman added, as reported by the New York Post.The only question to which O’Connor provided an answer to was a confirmation of his name, as per an Oversight spokesperson, before he quickly left the House office building.David Schertler, one of O’Connor’s attorneys, said the doctor was left with “no choice” but to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights during his testimony before the committee, as reported by AP. “This is unprecedented, and I think that this adds more fuel to the fire that there was a cover-up,” commented Comer. “Clearly there was a conspiracy to cover up,” said Comer in a subsequent statement. “We will continue to interview more Biden White House aides to get the answers Americans deserve,” he added. “There’s more and more evidence that comes out every day that would suggest that the president was in a pretty severe mental decline, so we’re going to ask about that,” Comer said. “We can’t have the physician’s office not being truthful about the health condition of the president,” he said adding that the interview is part of a broader investigation into who in the Biden White House was authorized to use the autopen for signing executive actions and pardons.Biden has strongly rejected the claims questioning his mental fitness during his tenure calling them “ridiculous and false,”, as per AP.Comer also referred to the book “Original Sin” published by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, in May 20, and asserted that O’Connor decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment further solidifies claims made in that book.The authors alleged that there exists a “Politburo” of close senior advisers, including Annie Tomasini, who served as the “ultimate decision makers” in the previous administration. Other alleged “Politburo” members who are scheduled for interviews with the Oversight panel include Ron Klain, the former White House chief of staff on July 24, Steve Ricchetti, former counselor to the president on July 30, Mike Donilon, former senior adviser on July 31 and Bruce Reed the former deputy chief of staff for police on August 5.Anita Dunn, who had stepped down as senior adviser in Biden White House in August 2024, is scheduled for a transcribed interview on August 7.The panel has started scheduling interviews with former Biden allies to assess whether they were administering the role of the presidency instead of former US president Joe Biden due to his alleged cognitive decline, as reported by the Washington Times. The next interview is scheduled for Friday with Ashley Williams, the former Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations.
