Biden defends frequent autopen use at end of term
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Then-President Biden at the White House in December 8. Photo: Pete Marovich/Getty Images
Former President Biden insisted that he authorized the wide use of his signature via autopen at the very end of his presidency, according to a rare interview that the New York Times published Sunday evening.
Why it matters: Senate and House Republicans and President Trump's Justice Department are conducting investigations into how Biden's aging affected his ability to be president.
- Some, particularly House Oversight Chairman James Comer, have been probing whether White House officials abused Biden's use of the autopen, which does not require the president's physical signature.
Driving the news: "I made every decision," Biden told the Times. He said he used the autopen on granting widespread clemency and pardons to particular groups because "we're talking about a whole lot of people."
- At the very end of his term, Biden took action to reduce jail time for almost 4,000 federal convicts.
- Many of those pardons and clemency actions were signed using an autopen–including those signed to pardon members of Biden's family, the Times reported.
Zoom in: Emails the Times obtained show that after Biden met with senior aides on Jan. 19, the day before Trump's inauguration, the Democrat's chief of staff Jeff Zients emailed a larger group of aides and wrote: "I approve the use of the autopen for the execution of all of the following pardons."
- Biden told the Times, "I made every single one of those. I understand why Trump would think that, because obviously, I guess, he doesn't focus much. Anyway, so — yes, I made every decision."
- He and aides said Biden did not approve every individual categorical clemency, but he did hold extensive discussions on the matter before signing off on the criteria for them, according to the times.
- A Biden spokesperson declined to comment further.
- Comer told Axios in a statement: "The House Oversight Committee will continue pursuing answers about this historic scandal to prevent such an abuse from happening again."
Between the lines: Biden's 10-minute interview is his first with the paper since he became president in early 2021.
- Biden's staff largely shielded him from the press as his ability to communicate declined in his old age, something that aides attributed to a stutter from his childhood.
State of play: Current and former Biden aides have been interviewed by Comer's committee in recent weeks.
- Biden's presidential physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, refused to answer questions at his deposition last week as he invoked the Constitution's Fifth Amendment.
What's next: Other senior aides are set to be interviewed in the coming weeks and Trump'
- The Trump White House has waived executive privilege that might allow some aides to decline answering particular questions.
Go deeper: Biden Cabinet members worried about his capacity in a crisis, book says
