It’s not a new controversy because Barack Obama used it, but he was mentally fit to be president; Joe Biden was not. There are still some questions regarding its constitutionality, but the use of the autopen under Joe Biden has come under new scrutiny. The reason is simple and unsurprising: a top aide might have abused it (via NY Post):
🚨 Autopen Update 🚨
— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) March 11, 2025
We analyzed Biden's Jan. 19, 2025 "pardons" for:
-Biden Family Members
-Anthony Fauci
-General Milley
-J6 Committee
-Gerald Lundergan
They all have the same exact Biden autopen signature https://t.co/jc6mkx37il pic.twitter.com/8VeBDwLNv7
A key aide to former President Joe Biden may have exceeded their authority by liberally using an autopen to sign official documents, according to two former White House sources, as President Trump’s aides set up “far more restrictive” rules governing the use of the mechanical device.
A document obtained by The Post outlines the narrow set of circumstances in which Trump’s signature can be affixed to documents, following controversy this week kicked off by a Heritage Foundation analysis of Biden signatures on various records, including last-minute pardons.
A small group of officials under both Biden and Trump have been delegated the power to get documents “signed” robotically, but 82-year-old Biden’s perceived cognitive decline sparked debate about whether some aides may have assumed his wishes in his final stretch as commander-in-chief.
One Biden White House source told The Post they suspect that a key aide to the then-president may have made unilateral determinations on what to auto-sign. The Post is not publishing that staffer’s name due to the lack of concrete evidence and refutations by other colleagues.
The Biden aide, who did not respond to requests for comment, would frequently make mention of what “the boss” wanted, the source said, but compatriots would have “no idea” if it was true because the internal culture was to not ask questions.
[…]
“Everyone” was suspicious of this individual exceeding their authority when claiming to speak for the president, the source said. “But no one would actually say it.”
“I think [the aide] was using the autopen as standard and past protocol,” The Post’s informant said.
“There is no clarity on who actually approved what — POTUS or [the aide].”
A second Biden White House source agreed that the person was suspected of assuming the then-president’s positions and handing down orders without it being clear if they actually had communicated with the commander-in-chief.
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It brings us back to our favorite question regarding the Biden White House: who was in charge? After the June debate, where Biden imploded on CNN before a national audience, which killed his re-election operation, Hunter Biden was supposedly running the White House and sitting in on sensitive meetings without a security clearance. Now, we have an alleged rogue aide used the autopen with murky approval from the president.
Talk about king chaos, folks. Let’s wait and see only because anonymous sources aren’t what they used to be. We can thank an overzealous and incompetent anti-Trump clown in the media discrediting this form of confirmation.
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