The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has been investigating the alleged White House cover-up of former President Joe Biden's apparent physical and mental health decline, and part of that probe involves talking with the ex-president's primary physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor.

O'Connor declined a prior request for a voluntary interview, so now Committee chair James Comer (R-KY) has issued a subpoena to compel the doctor's appearance and testimony, as The Western Journal reported.

Unfortunately, even if O'Connor does ultimately appear before the panel, it is doubtful that he'll share any worthwhile information, as he is instead likely to claim a variety of privileges and confidentiality agreements to avoid answering questions from Congress.

Subpoena sent

In a Wednesday evening X post, Chairman Comer wrote, "I gave Joe Biden’s doctor a simple choice: cooperate or be subpoenaed. I’m now sending a subpoena. The American people demand answers and @GOPoversight is working swiftly to get them."

Comer's post included a video clip of his recent appearance on Newsmax, during which he told host Rob Schmitt about Dr. O'Connor, "At the end of the day we made demands that he had to come in and answer questions, and they could refuse to do that, so I’m going to announce on your show tonight that he will receive a subpoena tomorrow."

"Dr O’Connor will be the first person to receive an official subpoena," the chairman added. "We’re serious about these people coming in, so now he’s going to have to come in and do a full-blown deposition as opposed to a transcribed interview."

Prior report qustioned

True to Chairman Comer's word, the House Oversight Committee announced in a press release on Thursday that a subpoena had been issued for Dr. O'Connor to appear for a deposition on June 27, after the physician had rejected a prior request to appear for a voluntary transcribed interview.

The release included a subpoena letter to O'Connor that stated, "On May 22, 2025, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requested that you -- because of your role as former Physician to the President for President Joe Biden -- appear for a transcribed interview on June 25, 2025, broadly regarding 'the circumstances surrounding your assessment in February 2024 that former President Biden was 'a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.'"

"Among other subjects, the Committee expressed its interest in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden’s physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as President," the letter continued. "Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee sought to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden’s fitness to serve from the American people."

The letter made note of three privileges that O'Connor signaled he would claim in prior correspondence, but Comer knocked each of those down as inapplicable to the current situation and ultimately concluded that both the subpoena and the doctor's compelled testimony were "now necessary."

Other potential subpoena targets emerge

Though Dr. O'Connor appears to be the first to be subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee as part of the investigation into the alleged cover-up of former President Biden's declining health, he almost certainly won't be the last.

On May 22, in a committee announcement about that investigation, Comer revealed his requests for voluntary transcribed interviews with not just Biden's doctor but also four of the ex-president's senior aides, including former Domestic Policy advisor Neera Tanden, former first lady senior advisor Anthony Bernal, former Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, and former Special Assistant Ashley Williams.

"The cover-up of President Biden’s obvious mental decline is a historic scandal," Comer said in a statement. "The American people deserve to know when this decline began, how far it progressed, and who was making critical decisions on his behalf. Key executive actions signed by autopen, such as sweeping pardons for the Biden Crime Family, must be examined considering President Biden’s diminished capacity."

"Today, we are calling on President Biden’s physician and former White House advisors to participate in transcribed interviews so we can begin to uncover the truth," the chairman added. "In the last Congress, the Biden White House blocked these individuals from providing testimony to the Oversight Committee as part of the effort to cover up Biden’s declining health. Any continued obstruction will be met with swift and decisive action. The American people demand transparency and accountability now."