Former President Donald Trump would like you to believe that most, if not all, of President Joe Biden’s executive orders are illegal. Further, he claims Biden is said to have used an autopen – a signature machine, which U.S. presidents have had for decades to sign documents. The former president’s claims are the latest in a string of such arguments over the validity of Biden’s presidential acts.
Biden executive orders, Trump once again lied, asserting that Biden did not sign the executive orders himself. He claimed that any other autopen user who signed the letters did so without Biden’s approval. Further, Trump claimed, “The President of the United States personally must approve the use of the Autopen. It cannot be done otherwise.” He went on to assert that “about 92%” of all executive orders signed by Biden were thus illegal.
An autopen is a mechanical device that reproduces a person’s signature. Indeed, both Trump and Biden have used this technology to make it easier for them to show themselves signing documents. During his presidency, the only autopen that Trump personally used. Yet, now, he is challenging the legality of Biden’s use of the device.
Trump’s comments have raised questions about the legitimacy behind the executive actions that have filled, and continue to fill, the Biden administration’s agenda. He has repeatedly suggested that aides may have forged Biden’s signature through the autopen, thus enacting policies without the president’s knowledge. There has been no definitive proof to back up these assertions.
A recent report alleged that Biden’s inner circle orchestrated a “cover-up of the president’s cognitive decline,” particularly focusing on pardons made during his term that angered Trump. Democrats on the oversight committee dismissed these allegations as a “sham,” emphasizing the lack of evidence supporting claims that aides conspired to enact policies without Biden’s approval.
Kentucky Congressman James Comer predictably extends full support to Trump’s wild accusations. In doing so, he called President Biden’s autopen actions NULL AND VOID and I applaud President Trump for taking that position. “Now Even Some Republicans Seem Uncomfortable GOP views have started to shift on the legitimacy of Biden’s executive actions. The big question they ask is, how did these actions come to be?
Contrary to Trump’s claims, experts emphasize that the use of autopens by U.S. presidents conducting official business is totally legal. The oversight committee’s report did not provide any substantial evidence indicating that Biden was unaware of laws, pardons, or executive orders signed in his name. Furthermore, there has been no indication of any attempts to bypass Biden’s will at the end of his second term.
The autopen controversy
However incendiary the disputes have been, the use of an autopen on behalf of President Obama was legal, but was it accountable and transparent? In making his impeachment claims, Trump has argued that by using the autopen without authorization, Biden committed an impeachable form of misconduct. Trump was apparently implying that the real Joe Biden wasn’t involved in the autopen process at all. He warned that if Biden does claim otherwise, he will be liable for perjury.