Former Biden administration staffer Annie Tomasini is expected to appear before congressional investigators on Friday after being subpoenaed by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

Tomasini, former Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for ex-President Joe Biden, was previously scheduled to appear for a voluntary transcribed interview on Friday.

A committee aide told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Tomasini’s counsel requested the subpoena, but did not say why. 

When she arrives for the 10 a.m. closed-door deposition on Friday, she will be the third ex-Biden administration aide to come under subpoena in Comer’s probe in recent weeks.

Comer is investigating allegations that Former President Joe Biden’s former top White House aides covered up signs of his mental and physical decline while in office, and whether any executive actions were commissioned via autopen without the president’s full knowledge. Biden allies have pushed back against those claims.

In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Biden affirmed he ‘made every decision’ on his own.

Just before Tomasini, House investigators heard from Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to ex-first lady Jill Biden. 

Bernal pleaded the Fifth Amendment on all questions about Biden and was out of the committee room less than an hour after going in.

Lawmakers are largely not expected to attend the closed-door deposition, which is traditionally staff-led.

Comer has been to several so far, and progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, has made surprise appearances as well.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson revealed in their book, ‘Original Sin,’ that Tomasini and Bernal ‘loaded a written Q&A into a prompter ahead of a local interview – a document that the campaign had used in prep with Biden.’

Tomasini and Bernal brought out the teleprompter as his aides were trying to soften his blunders as Biden struggled to stay on message, according to the book. But the teleprompter fiasco became an easy attack line throughout Biden’s re-election campaign, as President Donald Trump ‘weaved’ through his myriad unscripted moments.

The book described how Tomasini and Bernal grew closer to Biden during the pandemic, eventually becoming Joe and Jill Biden’s most trusted aides. 

Tapper and Thompson describe the ‘intensely loyal’ duo – Tomasini and Bernal – as taking on an ‘older-brother-and-little-sister vibe’ among Biden’s inner circle.  

Bernal and Tomasini later took on some of the residence staffers’ roles in the White House. Tapper and Thompson said the aides ‘had all-time access to the living quarters, with their White House badges reading ‘Res’ – uncommon for such aides.’

‘The significance of Bernal and Tomasini is the degree to which their rise in the Biden White House signaled the success of people whose allegiance was to the Biden family – not to the presidency, not to the American people, not to the country, but to the Biden theology,’ the authors wrote. 

A source familiar with the Biden team’s thinking called House Republicans’ probe ‘dangerous’ and ‘an attempt to smear and embarrass.’

‘And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump’s DOJ prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge,’ the source said.

A top former Biden administration aide invoked the Fifth Amendment during her closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Friday, Fox News Digital was told.

Annie Tomasini becomes the third Democratic ex-official to stonewall investigators looking into whether signs of former President Joe Biden’s alleged mental decline were covered up by his inner circle.

The former White House deputy chief of staff was seen entering the committee room in under an hour, saying nothing to reporters either time.

A source familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital that she invoked the Fifth Amendment multiple times, which likely is what led to the hasty meeting.

Tomasini is the third ex-Biden administration official to come before committee investigators under subpoena, and the fifth to appear overall.

She was meant to appear Friday for a voluntary transcribed interview, but a committee aide previously told Fox News Digital that Tomasini’s lawyers had asked House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to issue a subpoena specifically.

Both prior officials who appeared under subpoena – ex-White House physician Kevin O’Connor and Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to ex-First Lady Jill – also invoked the Fifth Amendment.

Comer is investigating allegations that Biden’s former top White House aides covered up signs of his mental and physical decline while in office, and whether any executive actions were commissioned via autopen without the president’s full knowledge. Biden allies have pushed back against those claims.

In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Biden affirmed he ‘made every decision’ on his own.

But Republicans have repeatedly accused those who have pleaded the Fifth Amendment so far of intentionally hiding critical information about the former president, even as their attorneys argue it is not an admission of guilt.

President Donald Trump late Thursday directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to work on releasing grand jury transcripts in the case of Jeffrey Epstein. 

It’s unclear exactly when any testimony may go public. The Justice Department is expected to file Friday asking a judge to unseal transcripts.

The order came after a barrage of criticism against the Trump administration following the release of a joint DOJ-FBI memo that concluded there was no evidence that the disgraced financier had blackmailed powerful people, kept a client list or was killed while in jail. 

The memo has created deep fissures among Trump supporters who have complained of a lack of transparency from the administration. A source told Fox News Digital that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino had been considering resigning over the matter, though he has not stated anything publicly. 

The president, meanwhile, has pushed back at the criticism, calling the charges a ‘hoax’ and contending that his supporters are being ‘duped’ by Democrats. Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday morning, ‘If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had [then-Attorney General Merrick Garland] and [then-FBI Director James Comey] in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!’

Before joining the Trump administration, Bondi was among the staunchest advocates for releasing the Epstein list, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity in 2024: ‘It should have come out a long time ago.’ 

The Justice Department released a new batch of Epstein files in February, but the documents revealed no new revelations in the case. Many of the documents had already been released during the federal criminal trial of Epstein’s associate, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Trump has defended Bondi over the latest fallout, telling reporters earlier this week: ‘She’s handled it very well, and it’s going to be up to her, whatever she thinks is credible she should release.’ 

On Thursday, Trump said he had directed Bondi to release all ‘pertinent’ transcripts on the case.   

‘Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Testimony, subject to Court approval,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social late Thursday. ‘This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!’ 

Bondi said her team was ‘ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.’ 

Epstein, a 66-year-old millionaire financier with a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, died in federal custody in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. 

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Former Biden administration staffer Annie Tomasini is on Capitol Hill Friday after being subpoenaed by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

She did not say anything to reporters on her way into her closed-door deposition with investigators.

Tomasini, former Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for ex-President Joe Biden, was previously scheduled to appear for a voluntary transcribed interview on Friday.

A committee aide told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Tomasini’s counsel requested the subpoena, but did not say why. 

She is the third ex-Biden administration aide to come under subpoena in Comer’s probe in recent weeks.

Comer is investigating allegations that Former President Joe Biden’s former top White House aides covered up signs of his mental and physical decline while in office, and whether any executive actions were commissioned via autopen without the president’s full knowledge. Biden allies have pushed back against those claims.

In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Biden affirmed he ‘made every decision’ on his own.

Just before Tomasini, House investigators heard from Anthony Bernal, a longtime aide to ex-first lady Jill Biden. 

Bernal pleaded the Fifth Amendment on all questions about Biden and was out of the committee room less than an hour after going in.

Lawmakers are largely not expected to attend the closed-door deposition, which is traditionally staff-led.

Comer has been to several so far, and progressive firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, has made surprise appearances as well.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson revealed in their book, ‘Original Sin,’ that Tomasini and Bernal ‘loaded a written Q&A into a prompter ahead of a local interview – a document that the campaign had used in prep with Biden.’

Tomasini and Bernal brought out the teleprompter as his aides were trying to soften his blunders as Biden struggled to stay on message, according to the book. But the teleprompter fiasco became an easy attack line throughout Biden’s re-election campaign, as President Donald Trump ‘weaved’ through his myriad unscripted moments.

The book described how Tomasini and Bernal grew closer to Biden during the pandemic, eventually becoming Joe and Jill Biden’s most trusted aides. 

Tapper and Thompson describe the ‘intensely loyal’ duo – Tomasini and Bernal – as taking on an ‘older-brother-and-little-sister vibe’ among Biden’s inner circle.  

Bernal and Tomasini later took on some of the residence staffers’ roles in the White House. Tapper and Thompson said the aides ‘had all-time access to the living quarters, with their White House badges reading ‘Res’ – uncommon for such aides.’

‘The significance of Bernal and Tomasini is the degree to which their rise in the Biden White House signaled the success of people whose allegiance was to the Biden family – not to the presidency, not to the American people, not to the country, but to the Biden theology,’ the authors wrote. 

A source familiar with the Biden team’s thinking called House Republicans’ probe ‘dangerous’ and ‘an attempt to smear and embarrass.’

‘And their hope is for just one tiny inconsistency between witnesses to appear so that Trump’s DOJ prosecute his political opponents and continue his campaign of revenge,’ the source said.

Israel’s military strikes in Syria this week — launched in response to atrocities against the Druze minority — represent a strategic turning point in a deeper power struggle that now entangles Iran, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the U.S., according to regional analysts.

Just days ago, speculation swirled about a potential normalization agreement between Israel and Syria — a breakthrough quietly brokered by U.S. officials, but that fragile prospect has been swiftly overtaken by violence, as Israeli airstrikes this week struck near Damascus.

A ceasefire agreement between Druze factions and the Syrian government, announced July 16, was meant to calm days of deadly clashes, but it remains tenuous and largely unenforced, with sporadic fighting continuing and tensions running high.

‘For the Druze in Israel, what’s happening in southern Syria feels like October 7 all over again,’ said Avner Golov, vice president of the Israeli think tank Mind Israel. ‘Israel can no longer treat Syria as just a neighboring crisis. It’s now a domestic one.’

In a rare scene, Israeli Druze citizens crossed the border into Syria to support their embattled relatives — prompting a stern warning from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

‘My Druze brothers, citizens of Israel… Do not cross the border,’ Netanyahu said. ‘You are putting your lives at risk — you could be killed, you could be kidnapped — and you are harming the IDF’s efforts. Let the IDF do its job.’

In his first televised address since the Israeli strikes, Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa framed the Israeli intervention as a destabilizing act.

‘Government forces deployed to Suweida succeeded in restoring stability and expelling outlawed factions despite the Israeli interventions,’ he said, warning that the strikes led to ‘a significant complication of the situation’ and ‘a large-scale escalation.’ He insisted that protecting the country’s Druze minority was a top priority and declared that Syrians ‘are not afraid of war.’

Within Israel, the collapse of order in Syria has triggered sharp debate. Some policymakers argue for supporting Sharaa as an anti-Iranian strongman, while others advocate broader military action to create a buffer zone in southern Syria. Golov supports a middle course: conditional strikes paired with demands for Druze autonomy and accountability for war crimes.

‘If Sharaa shows he’s willing to punish those responsible for the massacre and agree to Druze autonomy, then Israel can gradually work with him,’ Golov told Fox News Digital.

He also called for a regional diplomatic effort to stabilize Syria. ‘We need a regional summit — the U.S., Saudi Arabia, even Turkey, and Israel’ he said. ‘Bring positive forces into Syria and use Israeli military power not just tactically, but to gain diplomatic leverage.’

‘There’s a temptation to miss the victory lap,’ said Behnam Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). ‘Rather than see Syria through the prism of competition with Turkey, Israel should first see it through the prism of diminished competition with Iran. That in itself is a huge achievement.’

Turkey: Alarmed, but invested

While Iran’s position has weakened, Turkey has quietly expanded its footprint in Syria by backing the al-Sharaa government. 

Turkey’s strategic interest in Syria, Sinan Ciddi, a senior fellow at FDD and director of the Turkey program, explained, is to fill the vacuum left by Iran with its own political and economic influence — using al-Sharaa regime as a conduit. ‘Turkey has a lot riding on al-Sharaa success,’ he said. ‘They’d like to see increased trade, the reconstruction of Syria through al-Sharaa. They want to use him as a means to influence the region politically.’

However, Israel’s military response has triggered alarm in Ankara.

‘Turkey is not in a position to militarily challenge Israel — it would be a disaster,’ said Ciddi. ‘They’re talking tough, but they’re deeply concerned.’

Ciddi emphasized that Turkey’s aging military hardware and lack of air defense leave it highly exposed. Yet, Turkey is deeply invested in al-Sharaa political survival, hoping to leverage him for influence and economic ties in post-war Syria.

A direct clash between Turkey and Israel, Ciddi warned, would ‘result in a diplomatic fiasco… and require the United States and European countries to step in as mediator.’

Iran: Watching, waiting, and ready to return

Even as Israel dismantled key parts of Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria, Tehran remains a long-term threat. Taleblu said Iran is now lying in wait — ready to exploit missteps by others.

‘This is a regime that capitalizes on the mistakes of others,’ he said. ‘They don’t need to win outright — they just need everyone else to lose.’

Tehran is betting that the region’s rival powers — Turkey, Israel, the U.S. and the Gulf — will overplay their hands, allowing Iran to reenter through proxies, sectarian militias, or diplomatic manipulation.

The United States: Pulled back in

Though President Trump recently said Syria’s internal affairs are ‘not our war,’ his administration’s tone has shifted. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for de-escalation, and regional partners are urging a clearer U.S. role.

‘Real success will come from creating contingencies,’ Taleblu said. ‘What are the costs if Syria collapses? What if Turkey overreaches, or Israel overextends? What if Iran comes back? The states that prepare for these questions.’

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Republicans fixated on Jeffrey Epstein are getting ‘duped’ by Democrats, further defending Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the case. 

During an Oval Office meeting with the crown prince and prime minister of Bahrain, Trump said his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, reversed his first-term energy policies, leading to higher inflation. 

‘What Biden did is he ended our policies,’ Trump told reporters. ‘He doesn’t have a policy. Some lunatic around the desk had a policy. Whoever operated the autopen had a policy which is, by the way, I think the biggest scandals – that’s the scandal they should be talking about, not Jeffrey Epstein, the scandal you should be talking about is the autopen because I think it’s the biggest scandal, one of them, in American history.’ 

In early June, Trump directed Bondi and the White House counsel to investigate whether Biden’s aides used an autopen to sign official documents – such as pardons, executive orders, and judicial appointments – without his personal awareness. Biden has denied the claim. The House Oversight Committee is also investigating the conspiracy and has issued letters and subpoenas for testimony from several former White House aides, as well as Biden’s former White House physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor. 

Trump said Wednesday that Bondi could release ‘whatever’s credible’ related to the Epstein case before addressing Republican infighting about what some categorize as an about-face on transparency by the administration. 

‘He’s dead. He’s gone,’ Trump said of Epstein. ‘And, all it is, is the Republicans, certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats, and they’re following a Democrat playbook and no different than Russia, Russia, Russia and all the other hoaxes.’

Trump said he couldn’t speak to FBI Director Kash Patel’s comments on the case but further defended Bondi.

‘I really think that she’s done very good. She says, ‘I gave you all the credible information,’ and if she finds any more credible information, she’ll give that too. What more can she do than that?’ Trump said. ‘I mean, honestly, what more can she do?’

His comments come after FBI deputy director Dan Bongino reportedly had a heated argument with Bondi over the Epstein case last week and took a day off from the job to cool down, sources previously told Fox News. 

A growing list of Republicans have demanded greater transparency from the Justice Department on the case. Trump earlier Wednesday said on social media that Democrats had come up with another ‘hoax,’ this time on Epstein, after previously being responsible for the widely discredited ‘Steele dossier’ during the Trump-Russia probe, as well as the cover-up of Hunter Biden’s laptop story ahead of the 2020 presidential election. 

‘Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull—-’ hook, line, and sinker,’ Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. ‘They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.’ 

In the Oval Office, Trump said the Justice Department, and administration more broadly, are dealing with ‘bigger problems.’ 

‘We have problems with millions of illegal people that came in here, and they’re killers and murderers. We have 11,888 murderers that were allowed into our country by Biden. Sleepy Joe Biden, stupid Joe Biden, he allowed them into our country. And you know what we got to do something about? She’s got a lot of things she’s working on,’ Trump said. ‘It’s very sad that somebody can be waylaid, just get waylaid… I think she’s doing a great job.’ 

Trump said he has ‘lost faith’ in certain people in his own party regarding the Epstein case. 

‘I lost that because they got duped by the Democrats. The Democrats are good for nothing. They’ve done a terrible job. They almost destroyed our country,’ Trump said, championing how the passage of his ‘big, beautiful bill’ ensures ‘the biggest tax cut in history’ and the ‘biggest regulation cuts in history.’ 

‘These are the things that they should be talking about,’ Trump said. ‘The ‘big beautiful bill’ is one of the greatest pieces of legislation ever in this country, and the Democrats have nothing to combat it.’ 

Iran has until the end of August to agree to a nuclear deal with the United States and its allies, Fox News has learned. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom set the de facto deadline, according to three sources with knowledge of a call Wednesday among the officials. 

If Tehran fails to agree to a deal, it would trigger the ‘snapback’ mechanism that automatically reimposes all sanctions previously imposed by the United Nations Security Council. 

The sanctions were lifted under the 2015 Iran deal. 

The Trump administration has tried pressuring Iran to accept a deal to walk back its nuclear program after U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting nuclear sites. 

United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit that opposes Tehran’s effort to develop a nuclear weapon, applauded Wednesday’s news. 

‘Tehran has learned that, for the Trump administration, a deadline means a deadline,’ UANI Chairman and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said in a joint statement. 

‘After failing to agree to a deal within 60 days of diplomacy, the United States and Israel undertook targeted military action against the regime in June. Consequently, Tehran should take this new deadline seriously.’

On Monday, Iran warned it would retaliate if the U.N. Security Council imposes the snapback sanctions. 

‘The threat to use the snapback mechanism lacks legal and political basis and will be met with an appropriate and proportionate response from the Islamic Republic of Iran,’ Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei claimed during a press conference, according to a Reuters report.

Baghaei didn’t specify how Tehran would retaliate.