Jill Biden's former chief of staff pleads 5th in House deposition on Joe Biden's mental decline

The former chief of staff to First Lady Jill Biden invoked the Fifth Amendment during a closed-door deposition with House lawmakers on Wednesday, refusing to answer questions about whether the White House concealed signs of President Joe Biden’s mental decline.

Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to both Jill and Joe Biden, declined to answer multiple questions posed by the House Oversight Committee. Bernal appeared for a closed-door deposition before the committee after previously skipping a scheduled interview. 

The deposition is part of the committee’s investigation into whether senior officials deliberately withheld information about Biden’s cognitive health while he was in office and if the former president was aware that documents were signed with his “autopen” signature. Last week, Biden’s former doctor, Kevin O’Connor, also pleaded the Fifth when asked questions by the same panel.

Committee Chairman James Comer and Rep. Byron Donalds confirmed Bernal’s refusal to answer. The two criticized Bernal and his lawyers for arguing that pleading the Fifth was not an admission of guilt, with Comer telling reporters that “all options are on the table,” including whether former President Biden himself will be brought in for questioning.

"We're gonna continue our investigation. I think that the American people are concerned," Comer said, according to Fox News.

In a follow-up statement, Comer confirmed, "During his deposition today, Mr. Bernal pleaded the Fifth when asked if any unelected official or family members executed the duties of the President and if Joe Biden ever instructed him to lie about his health.”

Donalds was more blunt, calling the situation “corruption at the highest level.”

"The chairman is being nice. I don't have to be. This is corruption at the highest level, because if you cannot, say, answer a simple question about Joe Biden's capabilities, then that further demonstrates that he was not in charge of his administration," Donalds said. "And if he was not in charge of his administration, then every order, every bill that was signed, every memorandum, as far as I'm concerned, are null and void."

Bernal’s silence adds to growing scrutiny following the release of Original Sin, a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson. The book detailed internal concerns within Biden’s team about his health and capacity, including fears that he might require a wheelchair if elected to a second term. It also described Bernal as a fiercely loyal aide, allegedly dubbed the head of the “loyalty police” by former White House staffers.