What to know about Trump's claims that he can undo Biden's autopen measures
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Then-President elect Trump and then-President Biden at the White House in November 2024. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump once again declared that pardons and other measures that former President Biden signed using the autopen are no longer effective in a Tuesday evening Truth Social post.
The big picture: Trump, who's repeatedly criticized Biden's autopen use, claims these signatures could nullify the former president's legal actions. But he hasn't advanced this argument outside of social media, and a president cannot rescind a predecessor's actions using this method.
- The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' Tuesday evening request for comment on whether Trump plans to pursue legal action.
Driving the news: "Any and all Documents, Proclamations, Executive Orders, Memorandums, or Contracts, signed by Order of the now infamous and unauthorized "AUTOPEN," within the Administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., are hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect," Trump said on Tuesday.
- He posted a similar message on the platform last week, claiming that Biden signed around 92% of all documents with the autopen and that those involved acted "illegally."
- During Trump's late Monday night Truth Social posting spree, he also baselessly accused former First Lady Michelle Obama of using Biden's autopen in the final days of his administration, sharing a screenshot of an X post by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Reality check: Various other presidents throughout U.S. history have relied on the autopen to sign documents. Trump himself admitted in March that he used the device but said it was only for "very unimportant papers."
- A president has no authority to overturn a predecessor's pardons, especially based on the type of signature used, per the U.S. Constitution.
- Trump does not have the ability to undo a previous president's pardons, bills enacted by Congress or various other measures that Biden authorized via autopen, said Ed Wheelan, a distinguished senior fellow and Antonin Scalia chair in constitutional studies at the Ethics & Public Policy Center on X last week.
Zoom out: Attorney General Pam Bondi said her office was reviewing Biden's use of an autopen for the late-stage pardons in October.
- Biden confirmed in July that he approved the use of the autopen at the very end of his presidency, supporting his decisions to grant widespread clemency and pardons.
- High-ranking Biden administration officials criticized the former president's team permitting the use of the autopen, but the Democrat told the New York Times in defense of his action that he still "made every decision."
Go deeper: What to know about autopen, which Trump claims nullifies Biden pardons
