Biden doctor pleads the 5th on GOP House panel questions about fitness

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Jul 9, 2025

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Former President Joe Biden’s personal physician Wednesday refused to answer a Republican congressional committee’s questions about his health and fitness to serve, citing doctor-patient confidentiality.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor also invoked his rights under the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions during a House Oversight Committee probe into whether Biden was incapable of serving as president, claims Biden strongly denies.

David Schertler, a lawyer for O’Connor’s lawyers, said in a written statement he prepared for the committee that the doctor would not violate his oath of confidentiality with his patients.

The lawyer also asserted that the panel should hold off on its investigation until Attorney General Pam Bondi concludes an investigation into Biden’s supposed use of an autopen to sign some official documents.

“The pending Department of Justice criminal investigation leaves Dr. O’Connor no choice but to invoke his constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to any questions posed by the Committee,” Schertler said in the statement.

Biden, who pulled the plug on his reelection campaign last July after a poor debate performance against Trump, has strongly denied that he was not in a right state of mind at any point while in office, calling the claims “ridiculous and false.”

Committee chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, -said O’Connor’s decision not to testify made it “clear there was a conspiracy” to cover up Biden’s health woes.

“The American people demand transparency, but Dr. O’Connor would rather conceal the truth,” Comer said.

In a June subpoena of O’Connor, Comer said that claims of physician-patient privilege under the American Medical Association’s code of ethics “lack merit” because that code is not enshrined in federal law.

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