Dr. Kevin O’Connor invoked doctor-patient privilege and his rights under the Fifth Amendment during a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee, his attorney and lawmakers said.
Republicans on the Oversight Committee subpoenaed last month as part of a their sweeping investigation into Biden’s health and his mental fitness as president. They claim some policies carried out during Biden's term through the use of the White House autopen may be illegitimate if it's proven the Democrat was mentally incapacitated for some of his term.
Biden has strongly denied that he was not in a right state of mind at any point while in office, calling the claims "ridiculous and false."
Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the Oversight chair, said O’Connor’s refusal to testify made it “clear there was a conspiracy.”
“The American people demand transparency, but Dr. O’Connor would rather conceal the truth,” Comer said in a statement.
Comer has has sought testimony from nearly a dozen former Biden aides as he conducts his investigation, including former White House chiefs of staff Ron Klain and Jeff Zients; former senior advisers Mike Donilon and Anita Dunn; former deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed, former counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, former deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and a former assistant to the president, Ashley Williams.
He has also issued a subpoena for Anthony Bernal, the former chief of staff to former first lady Jill Biden.
