Four senior Biden White House aides agreed to testify to the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into former President Joe Biden’s ailing health while in office, according to a committee aide.
Their testimony schedule:
— Neera Tanden, former director of the Domestic Policy Council, on June 24
— Anthony Bernal, former senior adviser to the First Lady, on June 26
— Ashley Williams, former deputy director of Oval Office operations, on July 11
— Annie Tomasini, former deputy chief of staff, on July 18
Chair James Comer had requested the aides’ cooperation with his investigation in May, amid renewed scrutiny in Washington of the former president’s mental acuity. Last week, the Kentucky Republican sent a subpoena to Biden’s physician Kevin O’Connor, calling him to appear on June 27 after O’Connor rejected Comer’s invitation to testify.
Even after Biden largely retreated from public view, congressional Republicans have focused extensively on concerns around the octogenarian former president’s health. The Senate will hold a hearing on the matter next week.
Comer has also requested testimony from former senior adviser to the president Michael Donilon; former senior adviser to the president Anita Dunn; former deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed; and former counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti.
In response to a similar White House probe into whether aides contributed to a cover-up of Biden’s decline, Biden has maintained that he drove his own decisions during his presidency. There is no evidence aides acted on his behalf in response to his ailing health.
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