Donald Trump recently claimed that pardons signed by President Joe Biden are "void, vacant and of no further force and effect" because they were signed with the use of an autopen. An autopen, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is "a device that mechanically reproduces a person's signature." Trump's assertion was made in a post on his social media platform and further emphasized during a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
The former president's statement came on the heels of a report from the Heritage Foundation, a pro-Trump rightwing think tank, investigating Biden's use of the autopen. Trump's allegations pertain to the pre-emptive pardons Biden granted to family members and all members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on Congress.
"The ‘Pardons; that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen," Trump proclaimed on his social media platform.
In 1929, the US Justice Department held that "it is wholly for the president to decide" the method by which a pardon is handed down. This implies that presidential pardons do not even have to be in writing, according to a federal appeals court.
Members of the January 6 committee have expressed they did not seek or desire pardons from Biden, asserting their innocence in the matter. The committee had been investigating the attack, which Trump allegedly incited in an effort to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Trump's administration has been known to target government lawyers who investigated him in his two federal criminal cases, as well as outside lawyers with past Democratic ties. As such, his current claims raise questions about the legitimacy of Biden's pardons, though the legality of these claims would ultimately be determined by the courts.
"It’s not my decision – that’ll be up to a court – but I would say that they’re null and void, because I’m sure Biden didn’t have any idea that it was taking place, and somebody was using an autopen to sign off and to give pardons," Trump remarked.