The House Oversight Committee may soon call former First Lady Jill Biden to testify as part of its ongoing investigation into the use of the presidential autopen and questions surrounding President Joe Biden’s cognitive capacity during his final months in office.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) appeared Wednesday on Fox News’ Hannity and confirmed that the likelihood of requesting Jill Biden’s testimony has “increased significantly,” especially after her former chief of staff, Anthony Bernal, invoked the Fifth Amendment throughout an hours-long closed-door deposition.
“We had her chief of staff, her self-proclaimed work husband, there for what we planned to be an eight-hour deposition,” Comer said. “He kept invoking the Fifth Amendment, and his lawyer finally said, ‘You can ask all the questions you want. We’re going to invoke the Fifth Amendment on every question.’”
That refusal to answer has triggered new momentum for the committee’s inquiry. “We need to know — was Jill Biden the one calling the shots while Joe Biden was incapacitated?” Comer asked. “Anthony Bernal had an opportunity to answer those questions. He chose not to. So I would say her odds [of being called] significantly increased.”
The autopen controversy stems from President Biden’s use of a mechanical signature device during his final months in office. Biden told The New York Times on Sunday that he had authorized staff to use it because he was “granting clemency to so many people.” But critics allege the practice was used to mask his declining ability to personally manage executive actions, especially amid reports of significant health deterioration.
In May, Comer’s committee requested depositions from four former White House staffers and Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s longtime physician, to explore who was making critical decisions inside the West Wing.
The scrutiny intensified following revelations that Biden had been diagnosed with an aggressive, metastatic form of prostate cancer, disclosed publicly just days before the release of a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson. That book includes insider claims of deep concerns over Biden’s mental fitness — including discussions about using a wheelchair for mobility.
In the waning days of his presidency, Biden issued a controversial wave of pardons and commutations, including for Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley, and members of his own family, as well as nearly 1,500 others, including convicted public officials and Democratic political figures.
Both Bernal and Dr. O’Connor refused to answer questions about Biden’s cognitive status under oath, citing the Fifth Amendment.
