Former Biden aide Anthony Bernal, left, will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday. (Getty)
"No one spent more time, whether it was in the motorcade, on the plane, in the private residence at the White House, Camp David, and at both houses in Delaware, nobody spent more personal time around them and their family and the Biden family than Anthony," Democratic strategist Michael LaRosa, who served as press secretary to former first lady Jill Biden, told Fox News Digital.
LaRosa told Fox News Digital that Bernal, former special assistant to Biden and deputy director of Oval Office Operations, was an "indispensable" part of the Biden team whose top priority was "protecting the Bidens," even if it was politically harmful due to a "personal and emotional attachment" that became more of a familial relationship than a professional one.
Fox News Digital previously reported on how the book "Original Sin," by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson, described Bernal as one of the most influential people in the White House who wielded loyalty as a weapon to weed out the defectors.
During the pandemic, Biden traded the campaign trail for lockdown. Bernal and Annie Tomasini, who is expected to testify next month, found their way into Joe and Jill Biden's pod, shifting the power dynamic of Biden's so-called "Politiburo," the group of advisors who steered Biden's political orbit, the book explained.
BIDEN INSISTS 'I MADE THE DECISIONS' AS REPUBLICANS INVESTIGATE WHITE HOUSE AUTOPEN USE
Then-President Joe Biden talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024 in Washington, D.C., after returning from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Politico reported in 2021 that Bernal’s management style was viewed by some as "toxic" and would sometimes lead to crying staffers.
LaRosa told Fox News Digital that Bernal has a "big heart" but acknowledged he was one of the more "challenging" people he had to work with.
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Bernal’s appearance before the committee, if it happens, follows testimony from former Biden aide Neera Tanden, who said she was authorized to direct autopen signatures but was unaware of who in the president's inner circle was giving her final clearance.
When Tanden was asked whether she ever discussed Biden's health or his fitness to serve as president during her time as a top aide, including during the period of the former president's widely criticized debate performance last summer, Tanden said she did not. Lawmakers laid out a list of names of officials she could have potentially discussed it with, and Tanden said "no" to each name, according to a source familiar with her closed-door testimony.
Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind, Alec Schemmel and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/anthony-bernal-bidens-indispensable-biden-aide-ditching-house-oversight-probe-mental-decline