BREAKING: House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Top Biden Aides to Testify on His Mental Decline

The House Oversight Committee has just issued subpoenas for three White House aides, ordering them to testify about Joe Biden’s mental health and cognitive decline.

The subpoenas are specifically for White House deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, senior adviser Ashley Williams, and Jill Biden’s senior adviser Anthony Bernal.

They have until July 17th to respond.

Check out the breaking news:

🚨 #BREAKING: The House Oversight Committee has SUBPOENAED Joe Biden’s aides, and will be FORCING them to testify on his cognitive state

GRILL THEM HARD @JamesComer! pic.twitter.com/AflN5pbx8B

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 10, 2024

#BREAKING: House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed three senior White House aides, demanding they sit for depositions about Joe Biden's health. pic.twitter.com/eanw5XrGCo

— Lapson Luu (@LapsonLuu) July 10, 2024

From Axios:

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed three senior White House aides Wednesday, demanding they sit for depositions regarding President Biden‘s health, according to letters obtained by Axios.

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Why it matters: The subpoenas signal Republicans’ desire to investigate whether some of Biden’s closest aides essentially have hidden the 81-year-old president’s true condition, in a probe that could drag through the Nov. 5 election.

• Since Biden’s weak performance at the June 27 debate ignited questions about his candidacy, some Democrats — including administration officials — have been bracing for potential congressional probes into his mental fitness, and what aides know about it.

Driving the news: Oversight chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed First Lady Jill Biden’s top aide Anthony Bernal, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and senior adviser Ashley Williams, according to the letters.

• All three are low-profile but very influential inside the White House, Biden officials have told Axios.
• Comer asked for the aides to respond by July 17 and requested they sit for closed-door interviews later this month.
• He also cited a recent Axios report about Bernal and Tomasini having access to the first family’s residence — a situation that White House residence staff found unusual since political staffers often don’t have such access.

NBC News also covered the story:

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas Wednesday for three White House aides, requesting depositions to discuss President Joe Biden’s cognitive state.

The subpoenas, first reported by Axios, are for first lady Jill Biden’s senior adviser Anthony Bernal, White House deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and White House senior adviser Ashley Williams.

The letters accompanying the subpoenas alleged that the aides have “firsthand knowledge of the extent to which President Biden is personally carrying out the duties of his office and whether he is capable of doing so.”

“The Committee seeks this information to explore whether the time has come for Congress to revisit potential legislation to address the oversight of presidents’ fitness to serve pursuant to its authority under Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment,” the letters said.