Anthony Bernal, onetime assistant to former President Joe Biden and senior adviser to first lady Jill Biden, will be issued a subpoena to compel his testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as part of a probe into Biden's mental decline, the panel's Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said on Wednesday in a statement.
Comer made the statement after Bernal decided to refuse to appear on Thursday for a transcribed interview as part of the committee's investigation into the cover-up, including the potentially unauthorized use of autopen for sweeping pardons and other executive actions.
"Now that the White House has waived executive privilege, it's abundantly clear that Anthony Bernal never intended to be transparent about Joe Biden's cognitive decline and the ensuing cover-up," Comer said in the statement. "With no privilege left to hide behind, Mr. Bernal is now running scared, desperate to bury the truth."
But Comer vowed that "the American people deserve answers and accountability, and the Oversight Committee will not tolerate this obstruction. I will promptly issue a subpoena to compel Anthony Bernal's testimony before the committee."
Comer stated that "just yesterday, we heard from our first witness, Neera Tanden, the former staff secretary who controlled the Biden autopen. Ms. Tanden testified that she had minimal interaction with President Biden despite wielding tremendous authority."
Comer continued that Tanden "explained that to obtain approval for autopen signatures, she would send decision memos to members of the president's inner circle and had no visibility of what occurred between sending the memo and receiving it back with approval. Her testimony raises serious questions about who was really calling the shots in the Biden White House amid the president's obvious decline."
Bernal's legal team had previously said he would appear for a transcribed interview on Thursday, but after the White House Counsel's Office notified him on Tuesday that it was waiving executive privilege with respect to the Oversight Committee's probe, Bernal's legal team informed the panel that he would no longer appear.
Last Congress, Comer subpoenaed three key White House aides, including Bernal. According to the statement, the Biden White House obstructed the Oversight Committee's probe and refused to make the aides available for depositions or interviews.
Earlier this year, Comer renewed his request for Bernal to testify.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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