The story couldn't be more surreal, convoluted, and concerning. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated early Sunday morning, right after landing in Washington from spending the weekend at his Florida residence playing golf, that the pardons signed by Joe Biden in his final days in office are "null" and "have no value or validity." But if a statement of such magnitude with enormous consequences wasn't enough, what is most striking is the argumentation: Trump claims that these decrees were signed by an automated machine (Autopen) controlled by Biden's advisors, who according to his theory may not have been aware of it or "approved them."
Trump's statement on his Truth Social account doesn't stop there but concludes with thinly veiled threats against the members of Congress who investigated him. On Thanksgiving, Biden announced an unconditional pardon for his son Hunter, just before the court that had convicted him for tax issues and lying to obtain a weapon was to sentence him. But in January, on the brink of leaving the White House, he went further. First, he pardoned high officials like Anthony Fauci, the face of pandemic measures, and the congressmen who investigated Trump for the assault by his supporters on the Capitol, fearing reprisals against them after years of pressure and threats. And in the final hours in power, he extended the controversial pardon to his own siblings and in-laws.
In this morning's message, Trump argues that "the pardons granted by the sleepy Joe Biden to the Political Criminal Committee," which are the nicknames he uses for the former president and the congressional committee responsible for investigating the events of January 6, 2021, "and many others," are "declared null, void, and without effect, because they were granted by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them, but, more importantly, he knew nothing about them! The necessary documents for the pardon were not explained to Biden or approved by him. He knew nothing about them, and those who did could have committed a crime," he asserts.
Therefore, he adds, "those who were part of the Criminal Committee, who destroyed and eliminated ALL the evidence obtained during their two-year witch hunt against me and many other innocent people, must fully understand that they are subject to a high-level investigation. The fact is that they were probably responsible for the documents that were signed in their name without the knowledge or consent of the worst president in our country's history, the corrupt Joe Biden!" These serious accusations are not new. Trump has been attacking politicians for years and for months claiming, without any evidence, that this committee had destroyed all evidence to erase traces of what he considers clear illegal activities. And now he believes that these politicians and high officials can be investigated, declaring their pardons invalid.
It is currently unclear whether this will all remain a tantrum and trolling since he posted a photo on his social media in which, between his two presidential portraits, one for each term, an Autopen was signing as Biden instead of the face of the Democratic president. Whether he will simply incorporate it into his usual narrative, like insults or the claim that the 2020 elections were rigged and that's why he lost. Or if indeed the Department of Justice or the FBI, led by two of his loyal collaborators, are actually considering challenging the pardons in some way and conducting a criminal investigation, however little merit it may have.
A week ago, the Heritage Foundation, one of Washington's leading conservative think tanks and behind much of this administration's program, published a report stating that many documents signed by President Joe Biden, including dozens of executive orders, were signed with an automatic pen, questioning who was pulling the strings during the former president's four-year term.
"WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE AUTOMATIC PEN CONTROLLED THE PRESIDENCY," wrote the Oversight Project in a post last Thursday. "We collected all the documents we could find with Biden's signature throughout his presidency. All used the same signature with an automatic pen, except for the announcement that the former president was withdrawing from the race last year," the document explains.
Since then, Trump and his team have been pondering. The Autopen is a very common tool that presidents (including Trump), senators, congressmen, and state officials have been using for decades. The issue is not the tool but the decision. If it has the politician's approval, it's normal. If it's done without their knowledge and approval, it's illegal and a serious offense. The narrative circulating in Washington these days goes in that direction, with conservative publications like The New York Post, owned by Rupert Murdoch, stating that a close assistant of Biden could have been making decisions without his boss's knowledge, being the shadow president.
Something that in the case of the pardons makes no sense because they were very controversial decisions, well thought out, and above all, very personal. However, what Trump's advisors are looking for is an indirect way to get to the bottom of it. "For investigators to determine if then-President Biden actually ordered the signing of relevant legal documents, or if he even had the mental capacity to do so, they must first determine who controlled the automatic pen and what controls were in place," stated the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project, suggesting that the president was not fit and therefore the decisions are not legitimate. The former president is covered by immunity, but his team is not. That's why, for example, Missouri's Republican attorney general, Andrew Bailey, sent a letter to the Department of Justice last Wednesday demanding an investigation into whether Biden's "cognitive decline" allowed unelected personnel to push radical policies without his consent. To be investigated.
On Friday, from the Oval Office and while discussing military spending, Trump lashed out at his predecessor, calling him an "extremely incompetent man. Just take a look to see that he signs with an automatic pen. Who signs all this with an automatic pen? Who would sign important documents with an automatic pen?" Trump asked journalists, boasting about how he signs all his executive orders in person, often in front of cameras. "The documents you sign are important, and you take pride in signing them. Can you imagine if everything was signed with an automatic pen? It should never have happened," he said disdainfully.
"Our practice regarding the use of the Autopen is much more restrictive than that of most previous administrations. We do not use it for documents exercising presidential powers. For example, we do not use it for executive orders, presidential memoranda, decision memoranda, nominations, orders or appointment commissions, or for bills that need to be signed. We do not even use it for more routine purposes, such as inviting foreign leaders to the White House. The president personally signs all these documents, in the presence of witnesses. Occasionally, we will use it when a single document requires multiple presidential signatures, or when multiple copies of the same document require signing, but only after the president has personally signed and solely under his direction," states a memorandum distributed by Trump's team accessed by the New York Post.