Biden’s Autopen Controversy: Could Pardons Be Overturned?
As hearings and investigations unfold on Capitol Hill, questions continue to swirl around the Biden White House’s use of the autopen. At the center of the controversy are allegations that staff may have used the mechanical signature tool to approve presidential pardons and other official actions without President Biden’s direct involvement or understanding. In a recent interview, The Dispatch’s Senior Editor Sarah Isgur broke down what’s fact, what’s fiction, and why the legal consequences may be limited.
“The president uses the autopen every day,” she explained. “Of course, when we say the president uses the autopen, we mean there is a staff person who is designated to use the autopen.” It’s common for senators and presidents to rely on the tool for routine correspondence, like responding to letters from schoolchildren. The situation becomes more complex, however, when the autopen is used for constitutional duties like granting pardons. “What gets trickier is when you’re talking about constitutional duties,” she noted. “Did he actually grant those pardons is the question.”
Despite multiple investigations from Congress, the Department of Justice, and Trump's White House, it’s unlikely that any pardons or commutations will be overturned. “At this point, it has become practice to use the autopen, even sometimes on official things. You’re not going to overturn a pardon, especially given the interview that the [former] president just gave to The New York Times, in which he said it was his will to grant those pardons.”
The broader concern centers on what the former president actually knew about actions being taken in his name. “It’s probably safe to say there was a lot going on in the Biden White House… that he didn’t really know about, or wasn’t paying attention to, or couldn’t comprehend. But you would have to prove that. And that’s always the difficult thing.”
For a full breakdown of the controversy, including the legal questions surrounding autopen use and presidential pardons, listen to the latest podcast episode now.