House Republicans are cranking up the pressure on the White House over suspicions that staffers are trying to cover up potentially damning information about President Joe Biden after his poor debate performance as the 81-year-old runs for a second term.

Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) announced on Wednesday he subpoenaed three of Biden’s aides whom, according to Axios, are believed to have put together a “cocoon” over the president amid concerns about him experiencing a decline in cognitive health.

The trio of White House employees — Ashley Williams, Anthony Bernal, and Annie Tomasini — have created “a protective bubble around” Biden and he is “staffed so closely that he’s lost all independence,” one former staffer told the news outlet.

Biden “relies on staff to nudge him with reminders of who he’s meeting, including former staffers and advisers who Biden should easily remember without a reminder from Annie,” the unnamed source added for the report — which the White House denied was true.

A press release from the GOP-led House Oversight Committee noted Comer previously sought testimony from all three of the staffers for an inquiry into Biden’s handling of classified documents, but the White House refused to make them available for interviews.

🚨BREAKING🚨

Chairman James Comer has subpoenaed three key White House staff who are reportedly running interference for President Biden and doing the President’s job for him amid his declining cognitive state.

According to one former Biden aide, these three employees have… pic.twitter.com/T3cXSpC2ov

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 10, 2024

“The White House has shielded three key aides from testifying … and now we’ve learned through reporting these same aides are also seeking to cover up President Biden’s declining cognitive state inside the White House,” Comer said in a statement.

“President Biden is clearly unfit for office, yet his staff are trying to hide the truth from the American people,” the chairman added. “Key White House staff must come before our committee so we can provide the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve.”

Comer aims to have a deposition with Williams on July 23, a second one with Bernal on July 24, and a third with Tomasini on July 25. Cover letters for the subpoenas note each staffer appears to have “firsthand knowledge” as to whether Biden is capable of leading.

“The Committee seeks this information to explore whether the time has come for Congress to revisit  potential legislation to address the oversight of presidents’ fitness to serve pursuant to its authority under Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment,” the letters say.

Comer has also requested White House physician Kevin O’Connor appear before his committee for an interview concerning the president’s health while also citing evidence of the doctor having personal and business ties to members of the Biden family.

Newsweek reported White House spokesman Ian Sams responded by accusing the House Republicans, who have additionally been leading a corruption-focused impeachment investigation into President Biden, of chasing after “crazy, discredited conspiracy theories.”

After the news broke over the weekend that visitor logs showed a neurologist who is a Parkinson’s disease expert visited the White House several times, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied the president received treatment for the brain disorder.

Famed member of the country group The Oak Ridge Boys, Joe Bonsall, has died at the age of 76 — after announcing in January that he was leaving the group due to a neuromuscular disorder.

In a heartbreaking post on Tuesday on X from the hugely successful country and gospel group, the band announced that their longtime member had died from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The degenerative nervous system disease can affect nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, CNN noted.

“As a 50-year member of the American music group The Oak Ridge Boys, Joe was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and inducted into the Philadelphia Music Hall of Fame, The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and the prestigious Country Music Hall of Fame,” the post read.

“Joseph is also the author of 11 books including his latest, a memoir titled ‘I See Myself,’ which releases in November,” the post added. “Joe loved to sing. He loved to read. He loved to write. He loved to play banjo. He loved working on the farm. And he loved the Philadelphia Phillies. But Jesus and his family always came first—and we will see him again on the Promised Day.”

“For fifty years, Joe Bonsall was the Oak Ridge Boys’ sparkplug. His tenor voice was high and clear, and his jovial spirit always provided a jolt of energy, rousing audiences to come on in and take a load off. He lightened our cares every time he sang.”
—Kyle Young, CEO pic.twitter.com/p51kjbYAU8

— Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (@countrymusichof) July 9, 2024

No funeral is planned and in lieu of “flowers, donations may be made to The ALS Association or to the Vanderbilt Medical Center ALS and Neuroscience Research Center,” the post continued. “The family is requesting privacy.”

Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement, “For 50 years, Joe Bonsall was the Oak Ridge Boys’ sparkplug,” Billboard reported. 

“He was as exciting a performer as any who ever hit a gospel or country stage,” Young added. “His tenor voice was high and clear, and his jovial spirit always provided a jolt of energy, immediately rousing audiences to come on in and take a load off. He certainly lightened our cares every time he sang.”

In January, Bonsall shared the news he was leaving the group and would not be part of the rest of its Farewell Tour that kicked off in 2023, due to his health issues.

“Many of you know I have been battling a slow onset (over 4 years now) of a neuromuscular disorder,” he wrote. “I am now to a point that walking is impossible so I have basically retired from the road. It has just gotten too difficult.”

“I will never forget and for those of you who have been constantly holding me up in prayer I thank you and ask for you to keep on praying,” he added. “The @oakridgeboys will finish the Farewell Tour without me but rest assured I am good with all of it! God’s Got It!!!”

The country group was originally founded in 1943 in Tennessee, with Bonsall joining in 1973. The band is probably best known for such hits as “Elvira” and “American Made,” CNN noted.

He is survived by his wife Mary Ann, two daughters, a granddaughter, a grandson, two great grandsons, and a sister, the post on X read.