Biden Autopen Row: Canโฃ Trump ‘Terminate’ All Orders? Legalโ Experts โGive Verdict
Former President Donaldโค Trump has โขclaimed that executive orders and other documents signed โขby President Joe Biden via autopen – a machine replicating a handwritten signature – are invalid and should โฃbe cancelled. Trump alleges Biden was notโฃ personally involvedโฃ in the autopen process, accusing โunnamed White House staff of illegal actions. He stated on Truth Social that approximately 92% of documents bearing Biden’s signature were signed using โคthe autopen and are โthus โค”terminated, and of no further force or effect.” He further asserted he is cancelling allโฃ executive orders andโ anything โnot โ”directly signed by Crooked Joeโ Biden,” โคthreatening perjury chargesโข if Biden claims involvement.
An autopen captures a signature digitally and mechanically replicates it on documents, creating a signature closely resembling aโฃ handwritten one.
Though, the legality of Trump’sโค attempt to invalidate โฃthese orders is questionable. A 2005 Justice Department guidance clarifies that a president doesn’t need to physically sign a document for it to become law. The guidance states the President may โsign a โฃbill “by โdirecting a subordinate to affix the President’s signature to such a bill, โfor example by autopen.”
Legal experts have largely dismissed Trump’s claims. While they haven’t yet fully weighed in on his recentโค posts, โprevious commentary on the use of โautopens for presidential pardons โreveals a consensus that the practice is legally sound.
David โคSuper, a constitutional and โadministrative law expert at Georgetown University,โ explained that the Constitution doesn’t require written signatures โฃfor pardons.โ “The Constitution does not โขrequire signatures for โขpardons. It simply says the president has the power to pardon,”โ he said, adding thatโข a verbal pardon would even be sufficient, โขthough written documentation is administratively preferable, as per News from theโ States.
Kermit Roosevelt, a constitutional law expert at the University of Pennsylvania, stated, “If theโ president doesn’t know that โฃsomething was done, โคthen it’s not a valid official act. But I highlyโข doubt that that happened. I knowโ of no reason to think that that did happen.”
The use of autopens is not new; previous presidents, including Barack โObama โand George W. โขBush, have โฃalso utilized the technology.Despite ongoingโฃ debate โฃsurrounding its use, โฃno court has previously struck downโข presidential orders solely based onโ being signed via autopen.