Former President Joe Biden’s physician and friend Dr. Kevin O’Connor declined to answer questions about Biden’s mental decline during his presidency.
O’Connor invoked his Fifth Amendment rights Wednesday and did not answer questions during a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee.
“It’s now clear there was a conspiracy to cover up President Biden’s cognitive decline after Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician and family business associate, refused to answer any questions and chose to hide behind the fifth amendment,” said Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky)
“The American people demand transparency but Dr. O’Connor would rather conceal the truth. Dr. O’Connor took the fifth when asked if he was told to lie about President Biden’s health and whether he was fit to be President of the United States.”
The panel is currently investigating the lengths to which Biden’s top officials covered up his worsening mental acuity and whether Biden’s presidential autopen was used without authorization.
O’Connor’s attorneys said he declined to answer questions because of physician-patient privilege and the pending criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
As Biden’s physician, O’Connor is a key witness for the investigation. Last year, he infamously gave Biden rave reviews in his presidential physical and said he was fit to hold the nation’s highest office. It also remains unclear why Biden’s “aggressive” form of prostate cancer was not diagnosed until after he left office.
Comer subpoenaed O’Connor in June to compel his testimony for the Biden investigation. In a letter attached to the subpoena, Comer rejected arguments that O’Connor would be limited by physician-patient privilege because congressional testimony differs from testifying in federal courts.
The Trump administration waived executive privilege for O’Connor’s interview to allow the Oversight Committee to discuss the Biden cover-up and O’Connor’s business dealings with the Biden family without restraint.
President Trump has ordered the Justice Department to investigate the possibility Biden’s advisers conspired to hide his mental state from the public.
The former president has dismissed the notion that decisions during his administration were made without his knowledge.
So far, Comer has conducted an interview with one senior Biden official, Neera Tanden, who testified behind closed doors last month.
The Oversight Committee has interviews lined up with several of Biden’s top advisors over the next few weeks. Comer’s investigation is one of multiple congressional probes into the Biden administration’s handling of the former president’s diminished mental capacity.