Washington DC - The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed several White House aides as part of a probe to investigate President Joe Biden's "cognitive state."

On Wednesday afternoon, the committee announced that its chairman, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, had subpoenaed three low-level White House staff: first lady Jill Biden's top aide Anthony Bernal, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and senior adviser Ashley Williams.

The committee believes the aides may be "running interference for President Biden and doing the president's job for him amid his declining cognitive state."

The subpoenas call on the aides to sit for a deposition, during which the committee will probe them on if they have been knowingly hiding information about the president's health from the public, and the scope of their responsibilities within the administration.

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The effort, guided by House Republicans, comes after the president's disastrous performance at last month's debate against his Republican rival, Donald Trump.

Concerns about the 81-year-old's fitness for office have snowballed into calls from some Democrats and celebrities for Biden to drop out, and allow another candidate to step in, but he was aggressively rejected any notion of suspending his campaign.

The subpoenas request that the aides respond by July 17, with the deposition being scheduled in the following weeks.

In response, a White House spokesperson described the subpoenas as "a baseless political stunt." ... to get media attention" by Comer, who has launched failed attempts to impeach Biden in the past.