Former White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor refused to answer questions from House lawmakers investigating the alleged coverup of former 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 after appearing behind closed doors for what was supposed to be a transcribed interview with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
His lawyers said he asserted his Fifth Amendment right and patient confidentiality to avoid answering questions.
Lawmakers subpoenaed Dr. O’Connor after he initially refused to appear. In Wednesday’s brief interview, they 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.
“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.
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. Number one, 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.
Lawmakers are eager to talk to Dr. O’Connor, who was Mr. Biden’s longtime doctor and served as White House physician during his presidency.
Dr. O’Connor wrote glowing health reports during Mr. Biden’s presidency, despite obvious signs of diminishing mental acuity and numerous public stumbles. 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.
This is Mr. Comer’s second attempt to grill Biden staffers and his doctor about his presidency and how it was affected by his cognitive difficulties.
The panel has begun interviewing former Biden aides as part of its probe into whether they were administering the role of the presidency, instead of Mr. Biden, due to his cognitive decline.
