Biden's doctor arrives for closed-door interview in House health probe

Biden White House Physician Kevin O'Connor arrived for a closed-door deposition Wednesday. 

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, the progressive firebrand who recently lost her bid to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, made a surprise appearance at the event, though she said nothing to reporters on the way in. She and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., were the only lawmakers seen arriving.

Still, O'Connor's lawyers warn that testifying could violate doctor-patient confidentiality and risk his medical license. GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, a physician, said both sides have valid concerns, but the committee called it a stall tactic and warned that no-showing could lead to contempt charges.

So far, the committee has held just one interview - with former Domestic Policy Director Neera Tanden, who said she was authorized to use the autopen but didn't know who in the president's inner circle gave the final green light.

Comer said Wednesday,  "We have a lot of questions. i think everybody in America has questions about, learning about the recent cancer diagnosis...did he have cancer while he was president? With the Tapper book and what we believe is going to be in the Jean-Pierre book, that would suggest that people were covering up the president's mental decline. But yet Dr. O'Connor's reports were glowing with, you know, how healthy the president was."

"I think the president, the state of the president's health is the transparency that we all expect. The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the world. The American people have a right to know the health condition of the president, both physical and mental," he said.

"There's more and more evidence that comes out every day that would suggest that the president was in a pretty severe mental decline. So we're going to ask about that and see what the doctor has to say."

Comer said he did not "believe" O'Connor could "hide behind" doctor-patient confidentiality, citing Biden's position as president.