(The Center Square) – Another key figure in the investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental and physical fitness during his presidency has invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.
Former First Lady Jill Biden’s chief of staff, Anthony Bernal, invoked the Fifth Amendment during a congressional deposition Wednesday, according to The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
The congressman argues that Bernal is trying to protect himself from criminal liability.
“This week new reporting confirms President Biden’s aides took unauthorized executive actions during his presidency amid his cognitive decline. It’s no surprise that Anthony Bernal is pleading the Fifth Amendment to shield himself from criminal liability,” Comer posted to social media.
The congressman accuses Bernal of being part of the cover-up of Biden’s mental and physical decline, adding that he will continue to dig deeper into the “scandal.”
“During his deposition today, Mr. Bernal pleaded the Fifth when asked if any unelected official or family members executed the duties of the President and if Joe Biden ever instructed him to lie about his health. This is a historic scandal and Americans demand transparency and accountability. We will continue to pursue the truth on their behalf and examine options to get the answers we need,” Comer concluded.
Bernal’s use of the Fifth Amendment marks the second time in a week a Biden Administration official has used the constitutional right during a House deposition on the former president’s health.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during a closed-door congressional deposition on July 9.
Comer argued that O’Connor, using his Fifth Amendment rights, points to evidence that Biden White House officials were trying to cover up the former president’s mental decline.
“It’s clear there was a conspiracy to cover up President Biden’s cognitive decline after Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician and family business associate, refused to answer any questions,” Comer said in a statement. “Dr. O’Connor took the Fifth when asked if he was told to lie about President Biden’s health and whether he was fit to be President of the United States.”
Questions about Biden’s mental fitness were raised before the 2020 presidential election. Republicans and many in the conservative media continued to raise questions regarding the former president’s health throughout his presidency.
However, the White House claimed Biden received regular medical exams, showing a healthy, competent president.
The House committee announced in early June that it was expanding its investigation into the “cover-up” of Biden’s “mental decline.”
Comer sent letters to five former senior Biden White House aides, “demanding they appear for transcribed interviews.” The congressman was investigating “potentially unauthorized issuance of sweeping pardons and other executive action.”
The investigation furthers the debate on whether sweeping Biden pardons and actions could be voided.
The investigations have been fueled in part by a book written by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, “Original Sin,” which the congressman quoted as claiming, “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.”
In addition, President Donald Trump has been raising questions about whether an autopen was used to carry out executive actions, including executive orders, clemency grants, pardons, and presidential memoranda, and who directed the president’s signatures to be affixed to the documents.
Trump underscored the importance of a presidential signature, saying “the nation is governed through presidential signatures.”
An autopen is a device – its patent is centuries old – to place an individual’s signature on documents or other surfaces. Trump argues the device is used to sign thousands of letters in response to Americans writing to the president, not intended to be used for official documents.
