President Donald Trump became the latest person to question former President Joe Biden‘s alleged use of an autopen for various executive actions during his time in office.
The discussion of Biden’s alleged use of autopen for various actions was brought to the spotlight with the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project issuing a report showcasing identical signatures on multiple documents.
The report questioned the legitimacy of the documents and whether they were signed with Biden’s knowledge. The Oversight Project report also noted that in the letter in which Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 campaign, his signature was different from the commonly used one on official documents.
The report gained traction within right-wing circles last week, with several claiming that autopen signatures may “open up legal challenges to the validity of Biden’s pardons in a court of law.”
🚨 Autopen Update 🚨
We analyzed Biden’s Jan. 19, 2025 “pardons” for:-Biden Family Members
-Anthony Fauci
-General Milley
-J6 Committee
-Gerald LunderganThey all have the same exact Biden autopen signature https://t.co/jc6mkx37il pic.twitter.com/8VeBDwLNv7
— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) March 11, 2025
The report also got the attention of the White House, with acting Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Jeff Clark claiming the use of autopen is evidence that Democrats were “fine with one or more aides of Biden controlling an autopen of Biden’s signature, despite Biden clearly having been senile for all or most of his time in office.”
There is currently no evidence that orders were signed without Biden’s approval.
Trump weighed in by posting a photo to Truth Social showing a line of presidential portraits with Biden’s photo replaced by an autopen printing his signature. The president’s post also made its way around right-wing circles, with influencer DC_Draino believing the autopen use could nullify some of Biden’s pardons.
“He’s trolling Democrats saying Biden’s illegitimate term in power was just an autopen [face with tears of joy emoji],” the post said. “Now about nullifying those Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger pardons…”
Trump reiterated his thoughts on Biden’s alleged use of autopen, posting on Truth Social early Monday that he believes the various pardons Biden issued with the alleged autopen signature are “void.”
“The “Pardons” that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!” Trump posted.
During Biden’s four years in the White House, Trump and other Republicans repeatedly questioned Biden’s cognitive ability. Concerns about Biden’s ability were amplified after a disastrous debate against Trump in June 2024, which led to Biden dropping out of the race a month later.
The autopen has been in use since Former President Barack Obama signed an extension to the Patriot Act with the device in 2011, with him and his successors using autopens for approving orders and legislation.
TRUMP DECLARES ALL PARDONS BY BIDEN AS ‘VOID’ AND ‘VACANT’
Former President George W. Bush’s Justice Department issued a memorandum in 2005 affirming that the president “may direct a subordinate to affix the President’s signature to the bill,” including the use of an autopen.
While Trump has contended the validity of Biden’s pardons due to the use of the autopen, several of his final executive actions from his first term used identical signatures on documents posted on the Federal Register.
