Trump Waives Executive Privilege Protection For Biden Aide Ahead Of Cognitive Fitness Hearings

Ex-White House Staff Secretary and Director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden was told that executive privilege is “not justified” in her testimony on Tuesday for a congressional investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental state and whether he authorized the use of autopen signatures for major executive actions.

Gary Lawkowski, the deputy counsel to President Donald Trump, wrote to Tanden on the same day she appeared before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee for a closed-door interview. The letter, reported by Semafor, said the “extraordinary nature” of the inquiry permitted an “accommodation” for Congress and noted that the White House counsel was not requesting that an agency counsel be permitted to attend.

“[T]he President authorizes you to provide unrestricted testimony to the House Oversight Committee, irrespective of potential privilege,” Lawkowski wrote.

Still, Tanden was advised that she was not given the go-ahead to disclose classified information or any other details that would violate the law or court orders, according to a footnote in the letter.

Tanden is one of several top former staffers in Biden’s White House who are scheduled to speak with the House Oversight Committee over the next several weeks. The others include former Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the First Lady Anthony Bernal, Former Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations Ashley Williams, and Former Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini.

Chairman James Comer (R-KY), who demanded their testimony, has also subpoenaed former White House physician Kevin O’Connor.

“I think there is a huge level of curiosity in the press corps with respect to who was calling the shots in the Biden administration,” Comer told reporters before the interview with Tanden. “So this is the first of many people we’re going to bring in to try to get the answers for the American people.”

Lawkowski suggested that executive privilege would be waived for the other former Biden White House staffers and contended that Trump’s view on the matter is “consistent with the practice established under” the previous administration.

In her opening statement, obtained by Axios, Tanden noted that in her role as staff secretary from October 2021 to May 2023, she was authorized to direct autopen signatures for “certain categories” of documents — part of a system “inherited” from prior administrations. She denied having any further role in the use of the autopen while serving as head of the Domestic Policy Council from May 2023 until the end of Biden’s term.

Tanden also emphasized that her “cooperation should not be taken to mean that I think the Committee’s ‘investigation’ is a worthy subject.” She added that Biden was “in command as President” and claimed not to have any “experience in the White House” that would raise doubts about his ability to lead.

Democrats have dismissed the House Oversight Committee’s probe as baseless.

“The only thing extraordinary that came out of that deposition was it was an extraordinary waste of time,” Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) told reporters.

Biden, now 82, abandoned his 2024 re-election bid following a faltering debate against now-President Trump amid pressure from allies. A new book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson on Biden’s “decline” and the “cover-up,” alongside the former president’s recent “aggressive” prostate cancer diagnosis and the release of audio from special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with him, has intensified scrutiny.

Senate Republicans are looking into Biden’s mental fitness as well. Trump ordered a separate investigation into whether aides improperly used an autopen for executive actions in an effort to conceal Biden’s health issues, suggesting there could be “implications” for the legality and validity of the presidential acts in question.

Biden has pushed back on the notion that he did not dictate his executive actions.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden said in a statement. “This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.”