Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini invoked her Fifth Amendment rights during a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Friday, becoming the third Biden aide in recent weeks to do so.
The committee, led by Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), is investigating allegations of a coordinated effort to obscure former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and potential misconduct related to classified documents and family business dealings. Tomasini’s refusal to answer questions has intensified Republican claims of a “protective bubble” surrounding Biden during his presidency.
According to committee sources, Tomasini declined to respond to inquiries about whether she was ever instructed to lie about Biden’s health, conceal or destroy classified materials, or participate in efforts to hide information about the Biden family’s business interests.
Her legal team had initially agreed to a voluntary interview but later requested a formal subpoena, which was issued earlier this week. The deposition lasted approximately 30 minutes, during which Tomasini repeatedly invoked her constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Chairman Comer described Tomasini’s silence as part of a broader pattern, noting that two other former aides—Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, and Anthony Bernal, former chief of staff to First Lady Jill Biden—also pleaded the Fifth during recent depositions.
The committee is now preparing to question additional former White House officials, including Karine Jean-Pierre and Jeff Zients, as part of its expanded inquiry into the use of autopen signatures and the legitimacy of executive actions taken during Biden’s final months in office.
Democrats have pushed back against the investigation, arguing that the use of the Fifth Amendment is a legal right and not an admission of wrongdoing. President Biden, in a recent interview, reaffirmed that he personally made all decisions during his presidency and dismissed allegations of diminished capacity as politically motivated. Still, the committee’s pursuit of testimony from senior aides suggests that questions about transparency and accountability will remain at the forefront of congressional scrutiny in the months ahead.
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Author: JBaron
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