By Independent News Roundup
Quick Hit:
Former White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor refused to answer questions about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline during a congressional deposition on Wednesday, instead invoking his Fifth Amendment rights before abruptly leaving.
Key Details:
Diving Deeper:
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who served as Joe Biden’s longtime personal physician, faced the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday to answer questions about the former president’s health and mental acuity. However, the deposition concluded almost as quickly as it began, with O’Connor pleading the Fifth Amendment in response to critical questions about Biden’s fitness.
Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) revealed that O’Connor refused to answer whether he was ever told to lie about Biden’s health or if he believed Biden was unfit to execute his duties as president. Comer emphasized that doctor-patient privilege would not have barred O’Connor from answering those specific questions, raising suspicions of a deeper cover-up.
“This is unprecedented, and I think that this adds more fuel to the fire that there was a cover-up,” Comer said following the deposition. He added in a statement that it is “clear there was a conspiracy to cover up” Biden’s cognitive decline and called for legislative solutions to prevent similar concealment in the future.
The deposition is part of a broader Oversight investigation into who was signing executive actions and pardons using an autopen during Biden’s presidency. Comer pointed to bombshell claims from the book Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, which alleged that Biden’s top aides acted as a “Politburo,” serving as ultimate decision-makers during his administration.
O’Connor’s lawyer, David Schertler, declined to comment to the press after the deposition. Schertler also represented Dr. Anthony Fauci during his congressional testimony on COVID-19 policies last year, further highlighting the high-profile nature of this legal representation.
The House Oversight Committee plans to continue its investigation with upcoming interviews, including former Oval Office Deputy Director Ashley Williams on Friday and former Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini later this month. Other senior Biden aides, such as Ron Klain, Steve Ricchetti, Mike Donilon, Bruce Reed, and Anita Dunn, are also scheduled for questioning in the coming weeks.
Comer concluded that the American people deserve transparency about whether their president was capable of executing his duties while in office. He said, “We can’t have the physician’s office not being truthful about the health condition of the president.”
Biden White House doctor Kevin O’Connor’s closed-door House Oversight Committee interview is over
— Liz Elkind (@liz_elkind) July 9, 2025
“No comments to press,” his lawyers said
Source familiar tells me O’Connor pled the 5th pic.twitter.com/LIJa6pY2BF
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