A top former aide to former President Joe Biden showed up to testify behind closed doors Friday, the latest interview in the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the former president’s inner circle and his use of the autopen.
Ashley Williams, who served as a special assistant to the president and deputy director of Oval Office operations, entered a House office building at 10:45 a.m. and did not take any questions from reporters.
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The former White House aide is the second of the two witnesses who appeared this week, following Biden’s former physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, who pleaded the Fifth on Wednesday before the committee’s majority and minority counsel, citing concerns about patient confidentiality after he requested the interview be delayed.
Williams, a longtime aide to the Bidens, currently works at the office of former President Joe Biden. She also worked on his 2020 campaign and was part of Biden’s transition team in 2021 following his victory. Before that, she served as an intern and assistant to former First Lady Jill Biden during the Obama administration.
The committee has continued to expand the investigation over the course of the last few months following the release of Jake Tapper’s book, “Original Sin.” Comer has continuously leaned into the former president’s use of an autopen for pardons and executive orders. Tapper’s book specifically notes Williams.
“People working on the events noted that aides like Annie Tomasini and Ashley Williams were directing his every step to a degree they hadn’t before,” Tapper wrote.
Tomasini, former deputy chief of staff, will also appear before the counsel next Friday, July 18.
Neera Tanden, who served as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, appeared before the committee last month. Anthony Bernal, a senior adviser to Jill Biden, was slated to appear the same week but refused after President Donald Trump waived executive privilege for all of the former aides in the investigation.
Executive privilege allows the witness to withhold information from Congress to protect the integrity of the executive branch. Bernal is now expected to appear on July 16 for a deposition after being subpoenaed.
The transcripts from the closed-door interviews are expected to be made public. Comer told the Washington Examiner last month that no interviews would be released before all of them had concluded, but footage of O’Connor’s interview was released Wednesday evening after he pleaded the Fifth. Transcribed interviews are typically conducted by the majority and minority committee staff over several hours. The scheduled interviews are set to take place through August 7.