Former President Donald Trump has reignited controversy surrounding the Biden administration’s use of the autopen, alleging that officials may have forged President Joe Biden’s signature on numerous documents. Yet Trump would have us believe that most of Biden’s executive orders and pardons were never truly signed by the president. Rather, he claims they were generated with an autopen, a machine that automatically reproduces signatures.
Earlier this month on the campaign trail, Trump made a splashy bet. He promised to repeal any such document that Biden signed using the autopen. He stated, “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect.” This claim comes in the wake of a new report by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. The report did take a deep dive into Biden’s most famous signature practices.
The report released in October did not do an adequate job of substantiating these claims. That leaves no evidence that aides plotted to carry out policies contrary to Biden’s instructions. Nevertheless, Trump maintained that members of Biden’s inner circle orchestrated a “cover-up of the president’s cognitive decline,” implying that other individuals may have signed documents on his behalf using the autopen.
It’s the basis for Trump’s allegations that is most stunning. He still claims, without any proof, that Biden administration officials faked signatures. The Oversight Project has dedicated efforts to investigate the authenticity of Biden’s signatures on official documents. Mike Howell, the executive director of the Oversight Project, stated that the only feasible way to test the authenticity of Biden’s signatures was through legal action.
“Thank you President Trump for taking our historic Autopen investigation and findings seriously and ordering your Administration to take action.” – The Oversight Project
Trump’s use of the autopen has become a political red herring. On the campaign trail, he often doubts Biden’s capacity to effectively govern. He argued that treaties or other legal documents signed with an autopen should not have the force of law. “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 declared.
Those revelations are just some of the most glaring findings from The Oversight Project’s ongoing investigative work. Second, it is raising significant questions about the procedural legitimacy of all ten executive actions the Biden administration has taken so far. The project has shared their findings from the autopen investigation on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads.
Hacked documents from the Heritage Foundation showed a different picture. One of the applicants to one such Project 2025-branded initiative even freely acknowledged that far-right intellectuals influenced the development of their politics. This shocking revelation is symptomatic of an ideological agenda at work within partisan groups probing the Biden administration.
Trump’s rhetoric has increasingly targeted what he describes as “the Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden,” suggesting that they have undermined his presidency. He has rightfully called for accountability from those responsible for signing documents on Biden’s behalf without his express consent.
“We will follow up with the relevant authorities to identify what fraudulent documents are still being treated with legal effect.” – The Oversight Project
Trumps administration spokesperson Scott Bessent responded to claims. He promised that they are preparing, one day, to eliminate all federal benefits for illegal immigrants but make sure U.S. citizens still have theirs. As he said, “If you’re in this country illegally, you shouldn’t be in our banking system. Illegal aliens who exploit our financial institutions to funnel their crime-derived money back home is exploitation, and it’s over.
As this narrative unfolds, it raises questions about the legitimacy of executive orders and the role of technology in governance. The fact that Trump did use an autopen during his presidency himself complicates this discussion. Critics counter that he is exploiting this issue for political gain far more than he is focusing on taking action on significant governance concerns.
“It’s a rocket ship to the Supreme Court if that happens. We’re loading up the cannon for all sorts of things.” – Mike Howell
The future effect of these allegations on Biden’s administrating is still unclear as investigations are ongoing. With Trump asserting his intention to annul executive orders based on alleged irregularities in signing procedures, the political landscape is poised for further contention.