Inside the Biden White House: What David Hogg and former staffer said about Jill Biden’s inner circle in secret video

A new undercover investigation by Project Veritas has sparked debate over the inner workings of the Biden White House, with startling claims about the influence wielded by Anthony Bernal, Chief of Staff to the former US First Lady Jill Biden. The video features candid comments from David Hogg, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and Deterrian Jones, a former Biden White House staffer, both pointing to Bernal as a central figure in a tight-knit power circle.

Hogg: “The Inner Circle Is the Bigger Issue”

In the footage released by Project Veritas, Hogg emphasized that while the Democratic National Committee is “always going to be a campaign arm of the president,” the more significant concern is the influence of Biden’s inner circle. “Jill Biden’s Chief of Staff had an enormous amount of power,” Hogg stated, referring to Bernal, suggesting that the real decision-making power often lay with those surrounding the president—especially within the East Wing.

A “Shadowy Wizard of Oz”-Type Figure

Adding to the claims, Deterrian Jones, who worked in the White House Office of Digital Strategy, described Bernal as an elusive but dominant force behind the scenes. “He was scary… like a Wizard of Oz-type figure,” Jones said. “The general public wouldn’t know what he looked like, but he wielded enormous power.” Jones noted that among staffers, avoiding Bernal was common, and his influence was “an open secret.”

Loyalty as a Litmus Test

These revelations align with descriptions from CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson in their book Original Sin, which portrays Jill Biden as one of the most powerful first ladies in history, thereby amplifying Bernal’s position. The book reveals that Bernal enforced a strict culture of loyalty within the White House, often using that standard to shape staffing decisions. He was known to question aides with, “Are you a Biden person?”—leading some to dub him the leader of the “loyalty police.”