House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is demanding that White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor appear to testify about President Biden’s mental state and his foreign business dealings.
Comer (R-Ky.) also asked O’Connor to provide relevant documents about her relationship with the president’s younger brother, James Biden, and gave her a week to contact committee staff in a letter sent Sunday.
“After President Biden’s troubling performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump on June 27, journalists rushed to report what Americans have seen clearly for years: The president appears ill,” Comer wrote in the letter.
The Kentucky Republican focused on O’Connor’s health report from February, in which he insisted that “Biden is a healthy, active and robust 81-year-old man who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”
Comer also highlighted concerns that O’Connor did not recommend Biden undergo a cognitive exam because of heightened concerns about his mental acuity.
Biden, 81, has faced soul-searching from the media and Democrats about his fitness for the presidency following his debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
During that debate, Biden was seen slurring his words, freezing at random moments, and appearing to lose his train of thought. Biden has since claimed he is “exhausted,” but insisted he is up to the task and will not give up.
Asked why he didn’t take a cognitive exam, Biden told ABC News Friday that “nobody said I had to” and “I take a full neurological test every day” as president.
Some, like CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, have suggested Biden should take one.
Comer pointed out what he saw as an inconsistency between White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre — who said on July 3 that Biden had not had a medical exam since his February exam — and an NBC report that the president told Democratic governors last Wednesday that he had been “examined by a doctor after the debate and everything was fine.”
“Given your ties to the Biden family, the Committee is also seeking to understand whether you are in a situation
“We are not in a position to provide accurate, independent assessments of the president’s fitness to serve,” Comer chided.
Comer also speculated that O’Connor’s optimistic assessment of the commander in chief may have been influenced by her past interactions with the president’s brother, James Biden.
What you need to know about the fallout from President Biden’s debate performance:
In February, Biden told the Oversight and Judiciary committees that he interacted with O’Connor, who helped connect him with others while he provided “services” to the now-defunct rural hospital operator Americore Health.
“I was able to get through his personal physician, Col. Kevin O’Connor, as vice president,” Biden said in the interview, according to a transcript. “There’s an outcry for a solution to PTSD. … So he introduced me to a team.”
For months, Comer focused on how James transferred $200,000 to his brother in 2018 on the same day he received the same amount from Americore.
At the time, James indicated he could help the struggling company find an investor in the Middle East, according to documents uncovered by Comer. Americore filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
Comer also noted public reports that O’Connor attended a meeting alongside Hunter and James Biden with the president of a hospital purchased by Americore.
“The Oversight Committee is concerned that your medical evaluations may have been influenced by your private business activities with the Biden family,” Comer also wrote to O’Connor.
Comer is seeking all documents O’Connor has on Americore and James Biden. He has asked O’Connor to contact his team by July 14.
The Post has contacted the White House for comment.
