On Monday, former President Donald Trump claimed that recent pardons granted by President Joe Biden to members of the congressional committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot are invalid. Trump argued that Biden’s use of an autopen—a device that replicates signatures—renders these pardons ineffective, suggesting that Biden wasn’t personally involved in the decision-making process. In a post on his social media, Trump stated, "In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!" However, Trump did not provide any concrete evidence to back up his allegations, a lack mirrored by the White House’s response.
Despite Trump’s assertions in uppercase letters that the pardons were void, constitutional scholars note that presidents have broad authority to issue pardons, and the Constitution does not mandate that they must be signed manually. Autopen signatures have previously been deemed acceptable for various presidential actions. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt remarked that the focus was on whether Biden was aware of these pardons when they were signed, referencing coverage from the New York Post about possible misuse of the autopen.
The autopen, which has been employed by various presidents over the past decades, is intended to streamline the signing process, producing a replica of a person’s authentic signature. While some argue that key documents like pardons should require a wet signature, there is no legal stipulation that governs the use of an autopen in this context. In 2005, a legal opinion sanctioned the use of an autopen for signing legislation, and historical practices show that it has been used effectively for routine correspondence.
Recent discussions around the autopen have intensified following analysis by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which found that a significant number of documents with Biden’s signature, including pardons, were completed using the device. Mike Howell, an executive at the Heritage Foundation, has claimed that the frequent use of the autopen raises questions about Biden’s grasp of his presidential duties.
Trump, in his commentary, has singled out the January 6 pardons due to his ongoing grievances regarding the Justice Department’s legal actions against him linked to that day’s events. At the end of his term, Biden issued pardons to members of Congress and staff to safeguard them from potential retaliation by Trump.
Constitutionally, there is no specification dictating how a president must execute pardons, and a recent appellate court ruling supports the notion that there are no limits regarding their issuance. Even though Trump has used an autopen before, he reserved its application for less significant documents, labelling Biden’s pardoning method as "disgraceful".