Kevin O’Connor, the former doctor to former President Joe Biden, is requesting a delay in his testimony before the House Oversight Committee due to a disagreement over the scope of the questions he will be asked. The committee, led by Chairman James Comer, is investigating Biden’s mental fitness and the administration’s use of an autopen, a practice in which signatures are signed by an authorized individual on behalf of the president. O’Connor, who has been a part of Biden’s medical team since 2021, is scheduled to testify on Wednesday, but his legal team has requested that the testimony be delayed until July 28 or August 4.
The committee has accused O’Connor of stonewalling, stating that his legal team is attempting to delay the process by citing legal and ethical obligations. A statement from the committee’s spokesperson said that O’Connor and his legal team are merely trying to ‘stonewall’ the process. The committee is planning to move forward with Wednesday’s testimony, which O’Connor faces a subpoena to attend. The committee also stated that O’Connor is welcome to object to individual questions during his testimony, but that he is not allowed to delay or decline a congressional subpoena due to concerns over questions about potentially privileged information.
The controversy surrounding O’Connor’s testimony comes weeks after a former top aide to Biden, Neera Tanden, testified before the Oversight Committee about the administration’s use of an autopen. During Tanden’s interview, she admitted that she was authorized to direct autopen signatures but was unaware of who in the president’s inner circle was giving her final clearance. Comer criticized Tanden’s testimony, stating that her testimony raises serious questions about who was really calling the shots in the Biden White House amid the President’s obvious decline.
The committee’s investigation into Biden’s mental fitness and the use of an autopen has been a point of contention within the Democratic and Republican parties. The investigation has been criticized by some as being overly aggressive, but others have defended it as necessary to ensure transparency. O’Connor’s legal team argues that the subpoena is overly broad and that the committee is overstepping by questioning him about privileged information. The committee, however, maintains that O’Connor has a responsibility to testify and that the questions are within the scope of the investigation.