House Oversight Chair James Comer has subpoenaed former President Joe Biden’s White House physician to appear for a deposition later this month, according to a copy of the subpoena letter shared with CNN.
The subpoena to Dr. Kevin O’Connor marks an escalation of the Republican chairman’s probe into Biden’s mental fitness and decline.
In the subpoena letter, Comer said O’Connor was not complying with the committee’s initial voluntary request for a transcribed interview.
The letter from Comer states that counsel for O’Connor responded to the committee’s request for testimony, saying that the physician can’t appear for the requested interview, citing legal and ethical obligations as well as “physician-patient privilege.” The letter from Comer says that “these arguments lack merit.”
CNN has reached out to O’Connor for comment.
The subpoena comes as President Donald Trump ordered an investigation into Biden’s actions and autopen use in a Wednesday memorandum that cites his predecessor’s “cognitive decline.”
Biden dismissed the suggestions in Trump’s memo, saying in a statement Wednesday evening, “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
The former president went on to call his successor’s executive action a “distraction.”
Comer has ramped up his investigation into Biden’s mental fitness in recent days, requesting interviews with nearly a dozen former key aides.
CNN’s Arlette Saenz contributed to this report.
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