(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden’s White House physician invoked his Fifth Amendment right and left a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill shortly after arriving for questioning.
Some had questioned whether Dr. Kevin O’Connor would be able to answer questions he might face due to doctor-patient confidentiality, as Republicans have pushed for him to testify.
According to House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., O’Connor was asked two questions: Whether he was told to lie about the president’s health, and whether he believed Biden was unfit to fulfill his duties. O’Connor pleaded the Fifth to both.
“This is unprecedented,” Comer told reporters after O’Connor left.
The White House cleared the way for the testimony, with President Donald Trump waiving executive privilege after O’Connor’s attorney argued for a delay.
That request was denied.
“President Trump has determined the assertion of executive privilege is not in the national interest and therefore is not justified,” an attorney for the president wrote.
In a response to the request to be questioned, lawyers for O’Connor wrote, “We are unaware of any prior occasion on which a congressional committee has subpoenaed a physician to testify about the treatment of an individual patient.”
O’Connor was set to face questions about Biden’s age, health and mental state amid accusations that those in the former president’s inner circle had worked to cover up his cognitive state.
“I think everybody in America has questions about learning about the recent cancer diagnosis. Was his PSA tested while he was president of the country? With the Tapper book, and what we believe is going to be in the Jean-Pierre book, that would suggest that people were covering up the president’s mental decline,” said Comer before the hearing.
Recently published books have alleged incidents in which Biden was unable to recognize people he saw regularly and that he suffered cognitive decline while in office.
Biden has called the allegations ridiculous.
Significant areas of interest surrounding Biden’s health include his mental fitness and his recent diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer, including questions about whether he was screened during his time in the White House.
O’Connor is not the only one whose presence has been demanded by lawmakers.
A few weeks ago, Neera Tanden, former director of the Domestic Policy Council, appeared for a closed-door interview and said afterward there was absolutely no effort to hide Biden’s condition.
Later this month, the committee expects to hear from first lady Jill Biden’s chief of staff, Anthony Bernal, along with former chief of staff Ron Klain and former deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini.
Comer has said the findings will be made public once the investigation concludes.