(Gray News) – President Donald Trump claimed Monday that former President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardons are “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT,” because they were “done by Autopen.”
“Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Trump added that House Jan. 6 select committee members, which include former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, are “subject to investigation at the highest level.”
He also claimed that pardon documents were signed without Biden’s knowledge. However, there is no evidence to back Trump’s claims.
University of Baltimore law professor Kimberly Wehle, who has written about presidential pardon power, told Axios that Trump would likely lose a legal challenge on the argument.
“There’s no magic in the mechanism of a pardon,” she said
American University professor Jeffrey Couch said other presidents have used autopen to grant pardons, so it would not be an issue if Biden did the same.
Autopen is a mechanical device that replicates a signature, similar to a stamp, for crucial documents like executive orders and pardons. The use of autopen has been historically found to be constitutional and in 2005, the Justice Department said that the president can use autopen to sign legislation.
Biden issued preemptive pardons in the final days of his presidency. The pardons grant broad immunity to people Trump had targeted with threats to investigate or put in jail.
Along with members of the Jan. 6 select committee, retired U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, former NIAID director Anthony Fauci and several members of Biden’s family were granted the preemptive pardons.
In a statement, Biden said the pardons should not be construed as an “acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing.”
Copyright 2025 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.