(Daily Wire)—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.
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