Particle.news
Download on the App Store
21 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

House GOP Subpoenas Bernal and Tomasini as Panel Probes Biden’s Mental Fitness

Republicans say testimony is needed to oversee presidential fitness under the 25th Amendment after key aides invoked the Fifth Amendment.

First lady Jill Biden talks with senior adviser Anthony Bernal before her speech at the Carondelet Palace in Quito, Ecuador, May 19, 2022.
Image
FILE - Anthony Bernal, left, assistant to the president and adviser to the first lady, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and President Joe Biden are seated on Marine One as they approach for landing on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Senior advisor Anthony Bernal, pictured with First Lady Jill Biden on June 7, 2024, plead the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday in the GOP Biden cover-up investigation.

Overview

  • Anthony Bernal appeared under subpoena on July 16 and invoked his Fifth Amendment right, refusing to answer questions on President Biden’s cognitive state and the use of an autopen.
  • Former deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini was subpoenaed after her lawyers withdrew her voluntary interview agreement, compelling her to testify by Friday.
  • Oversight Committee Chair James Comer has directed subpoenas to assess whether senior aides concealed signs of mental decline and improperly authorized final-day clemency actions.
  • Bernal and Tomasini follow White House physician Kevin O’Connor as witnesses who have resisted cooperation in the Republican-led investigation into executive actions executed without the president’s direct signature.
  • The House inquiry is unfolding alongside a Senate probe led by Sen. Ron Johnson, which seeks related emails and records from the closing days of the Biden administration.