President Trump issued a sweeping declaration Friday, announcing that he is voiding every document signed through the use of an autopen during Joe Biden’s presidency and threatening legal consequences if Biden insists he personally approved the signatures. Trump claimed he is prepared to have his predecessor “brought up on charges of perjury” if Biden says he was involved in authorizing aides to use the device.
For months, Trump has insisted that Biden was largely absent during his term, portraying the administration as one run by unelected staffers. In his latest Truth Social post, Trump asserted, “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States.”
He went on to accuse Biden’s advisers of usurping authority, writing, “The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him. I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.”
Trump concluded his message with a direct warning: “Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Although Trump has already undone many of Biden’s directives, he has also implied that a number of Biden’s pardons may be invalid. Biden, however, told the New York Times this year that he personally authorized the use of his name in his final clemency decisions. Historically, autopen signatures have been recognized as fully legitimate when used by staff under presidential direction, and presidents of both parties have relied on the device for decades — including in rare instances to enact legislation.
Legal precedent supports the practice. A Justice Department opinion issued in 2005 during the George W. Bush administration concluded, “the President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law.”
{Matzav.com}
