In the wake of the presidential debate two weeks ago, congressional Republicans eyed a variety of steps to capitalize on President Joe Biden’s poor showing. Some, for example, pushed the White House Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and end the Democratic incumbent’s term. Others raised the prospect of a new House select committee that would focus entirely on Biden’s fitness for office.
But it was House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer who, in the wake of his embarrassing impeachment crusade, seemed especially excited to go after his white whale in a new way.
This past weekend, for example, the Kentucky Republican requested that Biden’s physician appear before lawmakers for a transcribed interview about the president’s health. A few days later, as Axios reported, Comer turned his sights on a different group of people close to Biden.
The GOP-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed three senior White House aides Wednesday, demanding they sit for depositions regarding President Biden’s health, according to letters obtained by Axios. … The subpoenas signal Republicans’ desire to investigate whether some of Biden’s closest aides essentially have hidden the 81-year-old president’s true condition, in a probe that could drag through the Nov. 5 election.
Specifically, Comer this week issued subpoenas to Anthony Bernal, a top aide to first lady Jill Biden, as well as deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and senior adviser Ashley Williams.
And why, pray tell, did the Oversight Committee chair subpoena these three relatively unknown officials in particular? As it happens, Comer appeared on Newsmax and explained his perspective.
“Our research indicates that these are the three people that have been pulling the strings for quite some time in the White House,” the beleaguered congressman said. These are the three people that have been trying to cover up the fact that Joe Biden hasn’t been mentally or physically able to perform the job of president … These three people, their names keep popping up as the gatekeepers, in addition to Hunter Biden.”
Comer added, “Have these three no-name employees — have they been operating a shadow government? Have they been privy to classified information? Do they have national security clearance? Have they been ordering the Cabinet secretaries to do various job duties?”
I suppose the obvious joke here is that if this trio of “no-name employees” have been secretly running the federal branch of the world’s pre-eminent superpower, then Bernal, Tomasini and Williams have been doing a terrific job.
But the truth is that Comer’s latest conspiratorial gambit isn’t a joking matter, and Oversight Committee subpoenas shouldn’t target White House officials just because its hapless chairman is looking for a new toy after his impeachment effort failed spectacularly.
Indeed, if the Kentucky Republican has any evidence of these staffers “operating a shadow government,” he’s kept it to himself, making his subpoenas sound an awful lot like a fishing expedition.
Nevertheless, if Biden stays in the 2024 race, we can expect more of this in the coming weeks and months. Comer reportedly asked the aides to respond to his subpoenas by July 17, and he wants them to participate in closed-door interviews later this month. Watch this space.
