President Biden insists that he was fully in control during his time in office and dismissed any claims that others were acting on his behalf through the use of an autopen. His defense came just hours after President Trump called for an official investigation into the matter.
Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday to initiate a probe into the potential misuse of the autopen by Biden’s aides. He raised the possibility that they had taken advantage of Biden’s mental state to make significant decisions in his name.
“I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden declared in a formal statement.
He also blasted the inquiry as a political ploy. “This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.”
The controversy reignited after the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project released findings that revealed Biden had authorized numerous critical documents using an autopen, including presidential proclamations, clemency grants, and directives.
Trump wasted no time in using these revelations to question the authenticity of those actions, particularly focusing on the flurry of pardons issued in Biden’s final days in office.
This week, the White House verified that Ed Martin, the leader of a task force scrutinizing potential abuse of executive powers, is examining whether Biden was mentally capable at the time or if others exploited his condition through tools like the autopen.
At the same time, Republicans in the House, spearheaded by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, launched their own review. They have requested testimony from five individuals who previously worked closely with Biden to determine if there was an intentional effort to hide concerns over his mental state.
On Wednesday, Trump escalated the matter by formally initiating a deeper inquiry into the autopen controversy. This probe will be overseen by White House counsel David Warrington and coordinated with Attorney General Bondi.
“In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,” Trump wrote in a directive to Bondi.
“This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history,” he warned. “The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”
Presidents have relied on autopen machines dating back to at least Jefferson’s time, using them mostly for routine documents like seasonal greetings. The practice, as it’s currently known, became more prevalent during Truman’s presidency and has been common ever since.
Trump, however, cast doubt on the integrity of Biden’s use of the device, expressing concern that it might have enabled staffers to usurp presidential powers.
“Given clear indications that President Biden lacked the capacity to exercise his Presidential authority, if his advisors secretly used the mechanical signature pen to conceal this incapacity, while taking radical executive actions all in his name, that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the Presidency, a circumstance that would have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions undertaken in Biden’s name,” Trump stated in his memo.
The investigation is also expected to examine whether there were coordinated efforts by Biden’s aides to dismiss genuine footage of his mental lapses as manipulated or fake.
This controversy has resurfaced amid renewed scrutiny of Biden’s cognitive function, especially in the wake of Jake Tapper’s recently published book Original Sin, which delves into the mental condition of the 46th president throughout his administration.
