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WASHINGTON — House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Wednesday he’s “open” to dragging former President Joe Biden before the panel as part of his probe into the 82-year-old’s cognitive state and use of an autopen.
Despite not ruling the possibility out, Comer (R-Ky.) wondered during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” whether it would “even be worthwhile” to bring the 46th president before the powerful investigative committee.
“We’re going to see who was giving the directive to sign these,” Comer said. “If everyone says it was Joe Biden, then I’m certainly open to bring him in.”
Last week, Comer blasted out letters to five confidants of the former president — including ex-White House doctor Kevin O’Connor — demanding interviews about Biden’s mental and physical decline.
All five have made initial contact with the panel through their attorneys — though the threat of subpoenas remains in force if they balk at questioning.
“Lawyers for Neera Tanden, Anthony Bernal, Annie Tomasini, Ashley Williams, and Dr. Kevin O’Connor have contacted the Oversight Committee regarding Chairman Comer’s request and we will be in discussion with them about transcribed interview dates,” a congressional source said.
“We expect all witnesses to fully comply with the Committee’s investigation. The Committee will issue subpoenas if necessary.”
No former president has given sworn testimony before Congress since Gerald Ford in 1983. The since-defunct House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot subpoenaed President Trump for testimony in 2022, but he declined to appear.
“Look, I would love to ask Joe Biden a lot of questions, but right now, we’re starting with the staffers who were operating the autopen,” Comer went on. “We’re going to bring the physician, Dr. O’Connor, in because he definitely was not telling the truth about Joe Biden’s health.”
Although no specific proof exists, Trump has issued near-daily denunciations of Biden’s use of the autopen — questioning whether his predecessor in fact signed off on its use and suggesting his subordinates were acting as the true leaders of the country.
Autopenned documents hold full legal force, but only if they were signed at the president’s directive, experts say.
Two former Biden White House aides told The Post in March they believe a particular senior assistant to the former president may have assumed Biden’s wishes for certain items to be signed — though they did not know of specific instances of them doing so when ordering the autopen’s use.
“There is no clarity on who actually approved what — POTUS or [the aide],” said one former White House official.
Comer’s inquest will be assisted by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a former White House doctor who held the role during the Obama and first Trump administrations.
The chairman also hinted that Republicans could pursue ex-first son Hunter Biden, former first lady Jill Biden and former White House chief of staff Ron Klain to determine the extent of the alleged coverup of Biden’s mental decline.
The probe comes amid rekindled uproar over Biden’s lack of fitness for office following the release of the book “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” and the ex-president’s May 18 announcement that he had prostate cancer that spread to his bones.
