Since taking office in 2025, Donald Trump has seized every opportunity to criticize former President Joe Biden‘s use of autopen. This time, he escalated from rhetoric to action, issuing an order aimed directly at the executive measures Biden had taken.
On Nov. 28, Trump announced on his Truth Social that all Biden-era executive actions are now void. This relates to the GOP’s longstanding allegations of invalid Autopen use by Biden and his aides. In March, Trump first announced that the pardons issued by Biden “to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT.” (via The Guardian)
Back then, Trump only targeted Biden’s clemency to the members of the House Select Committee who were investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He argued that Biden was not “in control” of the decisions he made, and his aides used the autopen freely. Trump then launched an investigation into Biden’s aides for concealing his “serious cognitive decline” and misusing the autopen. (via TIME)
Trump has no proof that Biden did not authorize the autopen orders
The autopen is a standard tool traditionally used by presidents for signing letters, thank-you notes, and bulk paperwork etc. Technically, its use does not invalidate any document, but autopen orders are only valid if the president authorizes them. However, Trump argues that Biden had no idea of the papers being signed by his autopen, especially toward the end of his presidency. “Joe Biden did not sign them, but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them,” he said in March.
In short, Trump’s whole argument hinges on alleged forgery or unauthorized delegation of presidential authority. He contended that “approximately 92%” of all documents signed by Biden were actually autopen signatures. But there are no concrete proofs of his claim. Even his June investigations could not produce any hard evidence that Biden did not authorize the autopen use.
Trump threatens Joe Biden with perjury charges if he interferes
Yet, Trump announced on Friday that the majority of Biden-era orders are “terminated, and of no further force or effect.” He wrote:
The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him. I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.
Trump also tried to close all doors for Biden to challenge his decision by threatening him with perjury. “Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury,” he wrote.
However, a mere social media post does not equate to a legal decision. The only way Trump can overturn Biden’s executive orders is by proceeding legally on the matter. So far, congressional and DOJ investigations haven’t confirmed any of Trump’s claims. So, his post remains another political rhetoric.
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