Former Biden aide Anthony Bernal appeared on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee’s majority and minority counsel as part of the Biden autopen investigation.
Bernal entered the Rayburn House Office Building hearing room at 9:52 a.m. and did not answer any questions. His arrival comes after Biden’s former physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor decided to invoke the Fifth Amendment last week after the committee denied his request to delay his testimony.
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Bernal canceled his plans to appear before the committee last month for the second transcribed interview relating to former President Joe Biden‘s use of the autopen. The former Biden aide was an assistant to the president and senior adviser to former first lady Jill Biden.
President Donald Trump waived executive privilege for all witnesses, leading Bernal to cancel last month. Executive privilege allows a witness to withhold information from Congress to protect the integrity of the executive branch. As the investigation progresses, the rest of the witnesses will also be denied the same protections.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) told reporters when O’Connor invoked the Fifth Amendment that it should not be seen as a sign of guilt but rather reality, as the House, Senate, and the Department of Justice have all opened investigations into Biden’s health.
“He did what any good lawyer would advise him to do, and it seems like he had two good lawyers in the room today,” Crockett told reporters.
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The transcripts are slated to be made public, according to a spokesperson for the committee. Comer told the Washington Examiner last month that no interviews will be released before all of them have concluded.
Transcribed interviews are typically conducted by committee staff over several hours, and both parties are granted extended time for questioning, compared to the five-minute increments afforded to members during publicly televised hearings. More interviews are set to take place over the next few months.
