Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has rejected a petition by former President Joe Biden's physician to delay his scheduled deposition.
Kevin O'Connor, who has been Biden's physician since 2009, was set to testify Wednesday as part of an investigation into the alleged cover-up of Biden's cognitive decline and unauthorized use of the presidential autopen for pardons and other executive actions.
"It's clear that the latest letter from Dr. O'Connor's attorney is another delay tactic to stonewall the Oversight Committee's investigation," a committee spokeswoman told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday, noting that the deposition is still scheduled.
O'Connor asked the committee Saturday to postpone the closed-door deposition over disagreements about the scope of the questions related to allegations he helped to cover up Biden's mental decline in the White House, the Examiner reported.
David Schertler, O'Connor's attorney, said his client could face "serious consequences" for violating his obligations as a physician, including losing his medical license. O'Connor requested to postpone his testimony to the week of July 28 or Aug. 4.
"Dr. O'Connor has legal and ethical obligations that he must satisfy and for which violations carry serious consequences to him professionally and personally," Schertler wrote Saturday in a letter to Comer, according to the Examiner. "We are unaware of any prior occasion on which a Congressional Committee has subpoenaed a physician to testify about the treatment of an individual patient. And the notion that a Congressional Committee would do so without any regard whatsoever for the confidentiality of the physician-patient relationship is alarming."
Comer in May requested O'Connor appear voluntarily for a transcribed interview, but he refused, leading Comer to subpoena O'Connor on June 5. The subpoena called for the deposition to take place June 27, but it was switched to Wednesday. Last year, Comer also requested O'Connor appear for a transcribed interview to discuss his medical assessments and alleged involvement in the Biden family's influence peddling schemes, but the Biden White House blocked his testimony.
"The House's deposition regulations outline a process for witnesses to assert privilege on a question-by-question basis, and the Chair to rule upon those claims," the committee spokeswoman told the Examiner. "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. 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."
Although it is legal for a president to utilize an autopen for official business, Republicans are investigating whether Biden was fully aware or had explicitly authorized such activity in the wake of allegations he was suffering from dementia-like symptoms during his time in office.
On July, 8, 2024, O'Connor addressed such speculation about Biden's neurological health, particularly regarding visits by neurologist Dr. Kevin Cannard to the White House. He clarified in a letter that Cannard was a consultant for Biden's annual physicals since 2012 and that Biden had not seen a neurologist outside of such exams.
O'Connor reiterated that neurological exams showed no signs of Parkinson's or other central neurological disorders. The letter was issued more than a week after Biden's disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump and about two weeks before Biden withdrew from the presidential election.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.