On top of all the other things that are going bad for Joe Biden, there were also more accusations this week regarding a top White House official Anthony Bernal.
Bernal is the senior advisor to Jill Biden, and with whom she reportedly says she's in a "work marriage." So, he's her "work husband," to use a term. According to the report from the NY Post, that gives him tremendous clout and makes him "untouchable."
But he's now been accused of having "bullied and verbally sexually harassed colleagues over more than a decade."
Two sources said Bernal, 50, shared with them a theory that the size of a person’s thumb corresponds to that of their genitalia — citing the hypothesis both at the White House and in prior roles during President Biden’s campaign and vice presidency under President Barack Obama.
“It is to make people uncomfortable and to have power over them,” said one source who told The Post they heard Bernal make the crude remarks over several years while they worked together.
“It is Me Too — classic Me Too,” the source added.
A second source recounted hearing Bernal speculate “often” inside the White House about the endowments of fellow political aides and even Secret Service agents.
A third source recalled a disparaging “jab” during a workplace disagreement in which Bernal said a colleague had a small penis, as well as a separate encounter in which the top aide “remarked on another staffer’s bulge in his khakis.”
The third former colleague said both of those incidents occurred before Biden’s presidency.
“It was a lot of inappropriate remarks — talking about other people’s attractiveness and speculating about their sex lives at very weird moments,” the person said, adding that he had come to see “that’s actually sexual harassment.”
Bernal also allegedly asked about people's sexuality and would pry into people's personal lives—talking about, for example, whether they were gay or not.
The NY Post heard from almost a dozen current and former aides on Bernal because they wanted some accountability.
It reflects poorly on the president and the first lady,” said one of the sources who described verbal torment.
“They talk a big game about integrity, decency, and kindness but when you work for the Bidens, you experience anything but that,” said another former White House adviser, who, like other sources, asked for anonymity in order to speak candidly and for fear of retaliation.
“They choose to surround themselves with bullies who run around the White House like mean girls, making the president and first lady look like phonies to everyone in Washington because everyone on the inside talks about what happens there on the outside.”
One source said it would be "career-ending" if they talked about this on the record, and that Bernal was creating a "hostile work environment and that no one does anything. Another said he is "protected" by Jill Biden. A third said it's been going on so long, "there's no way" Jill Biden doesn't know. Another said there was frustration with her because she wasn't doing anything about it,
"How can you write a children’s book about your husband fighting bullies while your most senior staffer harasses and berates the staff in your own office and your husband’s team on a regular basis?” one asked.
This isn't the first time accusations have been leveled at Bernal. I wrote in December 2023 about accusations against another former aide Michael. He deflected from his accusations to talk about Bernal, saying he was the one who was being abusive and a bully, although the accusations at that time didn't include any sexual aspects.
Didn't Joe Biden claim that he was going to fire people on the spot if they disrespected anyone under him? Indeed, he did.
So, what is the White House doing in response to this report?
Here's the response from the White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
“The president and first lady have full confidence in Anthony’s character, as do I. His many fans at the White House know him to be both gracious and tough, holding himself up to the highest standards, with a heart dedicated to public service. It is disappointing that he is the target of unfounded attacks from unnamed sources.”
Bernal also denied it was true.
The White House dismissed it out of hand as "unfounded." Where's the investigation?
This also says something about the power of Jill Biden, if these reports are true and no one wants to upend someone who is so close to her. This description in the report truly said something about his influence, as well as Jill's influence.
Bernal is regarded as rivaling even Zients in terms of power due to his access to the first lady and his ability to intimate that he’s speaking for the Biden family.
The Post then heard from more people criticizing Zient's dismissing it out of hand and not even saying they would be looking into it.
“It’s outrageous that the chief of staff dismisses Anthony’s repeated abusive behavior as ‘unfounded attacks’ straight out of hand without investigating them,” this person said. The person said that Zients made it pretty clear that if you're harassed, he "doesn't want to hear from you."
So much for "decency on the ballot." It looks like just one more example of the chaos from the Biden team.