Former White House doctor pleads the Fifth in House probe of Biden’s cognitive decline

Former White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor refused to answer questions from House lawmakers investigating the alleged cover-up of President Biden’s cognitive decline, asserting his right under the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination.

Dr. O’Connor made a quick exit from a House office building Tuesday after appearing behind closed doors for what was supposed to be a transcribed interview with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

He was subpoenaed to appear as part of the House probe into Biden aides who are accused of covering up his cognitive decline while in office and possibly acting on his behalf using the presidential autopen.

Dr. O’Connor’s lawyers said he asserted his Fifth Amendment right and the need to protect patient confidentiality.

Before the House subpoena, Dr. O’Connor had refused to appear, also citing patient confidentiality.

In Wednesday’s brief interview, lawmakers asked just two questions of the physician: Was he ever told to lie about the president, and did he believe Mr. Biden was unfit to execute his duties as president?

To both questions, Dr. O’Connor pleaded the Fifth, according to sources familiar with the proceeding.

“This is unprecedented, and I think that this adds more fuel to the fire that there was a cover-up,” said Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican.

A source familiar with the proceedings told The Washington Times that Dr. O’Connor would not answer any questions other than his name and would not respond to questions that did not involve patient confidentiality.

The GOP-led panel is in the process of interviewing more than a dozen former top Biden staffers over allegations they hid Mr. Biden’s mental decline and acted on his behalf.

Among them are a group of aides who are described as “the politburo” in a recent tell-all book.

“Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board,” one former aide told the authors of “Original Sin,” a bombshell book about Mr. Biden’s cognitive decline.

Dr. O’Connor wrote glowing health reports during Mr. Biden’s presidency, despite signs of diminishing mental acuity and numerous public episodes in which he lost his train of thought when speaking or appeared to wander off at events.

His doctor did not order any cognitive tests, according to records made public about Mr. Biden’s health during his presidency.

The physician was a close family friend and also a business associate to Mr. Biden’s younger brother James Biden helping him in a bid to win contracts from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2017.

“Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee seeks to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden’s fitness to serve from the American people,” Mr. Comer wrote earlier this year in a letter summoning Dr. O’Connor to testify.

The Trump administration waived executive privilege, which would have shielded Dr. O’Connor from discussing his treatment of Mr. Biden.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Texas Democrat and member of the Oversight panel, said Dr. O’Connor was protecting patient confidentiality, which is his duty as a physician.

“I think that he did what any good lawyer would advise him to do, and it seems like he had two good lawyers in the room today. No. 1, make sure that he doesn’t lose his medical license, because whether you’re the president or otherwise, you have the right to confidentiality when it comes to your health care,” she said.

Ms. Crockett, who is a lawyer, said Dr. O’Connor is also seeking to protect himself from President Trump’s “rogue” Justice Department, which is also probing the Biden administration’s use of the autopen and a potential cover-up of Mr. Biden’s cognitive decline.

“I can tell you, there was at least one person in the room that understands what an oath is, and that was the doctor,” she said.

Later this month, the Oversight panel will interview Ron Klain, who served as Mr. Biden’s White House chief of staff, and Mike Donilon, a veteran campaign operative and longtime adviser to Mr. Biden, among others.

Lawmakers are investigating the use of the autopen to sign thousands of executive orders, pardons and other documents on behalf of Mr. Biden.

The mechanical signature was used frequently, even when Mr. Biden was in the White House and could have signed documents himself.

Use of the autopen “exploded” during the second half of 2022, when Mr. Biden’s cognitive decline became increasingly apparent, investigators for the Washington-based Oversight Project found.

Last month, lawmakers interviewed Neera Tanden, who served as staff secretary in the Biden White House. She was authorized in her role to direct the use of the autopen.

She testified that she had “minimal interaction” with Mr. Biden regarding the mechanical signature, but said she followed a protocol passed down from previous administrations for receiving approval for its use from Mr. Biden’s top aides.

Asked if aides tried to hide the former president’s cognitive decline, she said, “Absolutely not.”

Mr. Biden issued a rare public statement in June, denying his aides were running or using the autopen to sign important documents without his knowledge.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” said Mr. Biden, 82. “I made the decisions about pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

President Trump said earlier this year he believes Mr. Biden was not in charge and would not have left the border open to the millions of migrants who crossed it illegally during his presidency. Mr. Trump also said Mr. Biden’s thousands of pardons should be voided because most were signed by the autopen.

The pardons included members of the Biden family, congressional Democrats, former White House COVID adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and hundreds of convicted criminals.

“In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them, but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!” Mr. Trump posted on his social media site.