Trump Claims to Revoke Biden Pardons Signed with Autopen, But Legal Experts Say It’s Invalid
Donald Trump has assertedโ he isโข revoking pardons and commutations issued by President biden, specifically those he alleges were signed using an โautopen – a mechanical device that replicates a signature. However, legal scholars maintain Trump’s declaration holds no legal weight.
During his โขpresidency, Biden issued a record 4,245โ actsโฃ of clemency, surpassing any US president since the beginning of the 20th century, according to the Pew Researchโฃ Center. The vast majority of these were commutationsโฃ (reductions in sentence), with only 80 individual pardons granted – the second-lowest number in recent history.Biden notably utilized “pardons by proclamation,” extending clemency to entire groups, including former militaryโฃ service members convicted under the now-repealedโค ban on gay โsex, and individuals convicted ofโค certain federal marijuana offenses.
The โextent to which Biden employed the autopen forโฃ theseโ actions remains unclear.
Despite Trump’s claims, experts โคsay he lacks the authorityโข to overturn previously issued pardons. Bernadette Miller,a constitutional law expert at Stanford University,explained to Al Jazeera via email that Biden’s pardons andโค commutations,even if autopen-signed,”remain valid.” She clarified that onlyโ executive orders – which have a limited lifespan and can be rescinded – could be undone by Trump.
This assessment is supported byโ PolitiFact, which โnotesโ a lack of any constitutional requirement for a pardon toโค be signed by hand and cites anโข 1869 judicial ruling establishing the finality of pardons once delivered.
Trump has specifically targeted pardons issued to legislatorsโ who investigated the Januaryโข 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, labeling them “VOID, VACANT, AND OFโ NO FURTHER FORCE ORโค EFFECT” due toโข thierโค alleged autopen signature. He and his allies view these Republicans, such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, as disloyal for their involvement in theโ investigation into the 2020 election, despite repeated โfailures to demonstrate โwidespread fraud.
It’s crucial to note that Biden is not the first president to utilize signature-replicating technology. Thomas Jefferson used a โคpolygraph in the 18th century,โฃ and John F. Kennedyโ employed a modern autopen in the 1960s. Barack Obama also used autopens โon occasion. Legal memos from 1929 and 2005 further confirm that a president is not legally obligated to sign documents by hand.
