In major folly, Republicans attack Biden autopen

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee says Former President Joe Bidens pardons signed by autopen are ‘void’ in final report and are urging the Department of Justice to take action, up to and including rescinding the pardons.

Republicans have seized on former Biden’s use of an autopen—a mechanical device that reproduces a signature — as a proxy for questioning his fitness for office. Some critics claim that because an autopen was used to sign certain clemency documents, pardons are invalid. That claim has been amplified by political theater — including President Trump’s installation of a photo of an autopen where Biden’s portrait would normally hang and through social posts that blur satire and doctored imagery.

For the record, the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department has long affirmed that Presidents can sign a document using multiple methods, including an autopen.

Presidential pardons, commutations, and clemencies deserve a deeper dive—perhaps once a few of the national fires set by the Trump administration have been extinguished.

What makes this situation especially absurd is that if the GOP succeeds in rescinding Biden’s pardons, many individuals within Trump’s own administration—who may be relying on presidential clemency—could find themselves newly vulnerable to prosecution. In their quest for political points, Republicans seem oblivious to this inconvenient detail.

Critics have also attacked Biden’s pardons by citing his apparent cognitive decline during the disastrous June 2025 presidential debate against Trump. Whether that constitutes valid cause is debatable, but it’s worth noting that Trump has displayed his own signs of cognitive decline—such as forgetting whom he pardoned just hours earlier.

COLLINS: Today you pardoned the founded of Binance. Can you explain why you did that? TRUMP: Which one was that? COLLINS: The founder of Binance TRUMP: I believe we're talking about the same person, because I do pardon a lot of people. I don't know. He was recommended by a lot of people.

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 23, 2025 at 4:19 PM

In my opinion, the list of officials, appointees, employees, and others associated with the Trump administration who could find themselves exposed at the end of his term includes:

• Elon Musk, “Big Balls,” and the rest of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
• Kristi Noem and her cadre of ICE agents, who have reportedly roamed the country terrorizing and assaulting civilians
• Pete Hegseth and other administration members who communicate via Signal, potentially violating the Federal Records Act and as well as the Espionage Act by inadvertently including recipients without proper security clearance

Trump and his sycophants in Congress may feel triumphant about their referral to undo Biden’s final pardons. But if they’re not already nervous, they should be — because hundreds of officers and rank-and-file employees may soon find themselves quaking in their boots.