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House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena to Dana Remus, former White House counsel, regarding an investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents.
The subpoena, part of the Committee’s inquiry into classified documents discovered at Biden’s residence and a previous office, requests Remus to provide a deposition. In addition, Comer is seeking interviews with four White House employees: Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, Katharine Reilly, and Ashley Williams.
The subpoena centers on Remus’s knowledge about White House personnel’s visits to the Penn Biden Center in 2022, where classified materials, including those related to Ukraine, were later found. Classified documents from Biden’s vice-presidential tenure were uncovered at his Wilmington, Delaware home, and a University of Pennsylvania office in Washington, DC. These were discovered during office clearance in November last year, but the information wasn’t made public until January.
The Committee is particularly interested in why Remus contacted Kathy Chung, a Defense Department employee and former assistant to Biden, about classified documents in May 2022. The Committee also questions why Remus, who served as White House counsel until July 2022, was involved in this matter and why the responsibility shifted to Biden’s personal attorneys after her departure.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed Robert Hur as a special counsel to investigate, and President Biden has already participated in an interview with Hur regarding the matter.
The White House, through oversight spokesperson Ian Sams, criticized the subpoenas, labeling them as extreme efforts by House Republicans to undermine the rule of law and interfere with ongoing Justice Department investigations. House Judiciary Committee Democrats also criticized the GOP’s focus on this issue, questioning their priorities amidst risks of a government shutdown.