Trump renews attacks on Biden autopen pardons, claims Biden ‘never gave the orders’
Trump cites autopen use as he renews criticism of Biden-era pardons; White House defends signature process amid new formatting on final-day acts and upcoming congressional scrutiny.
Trump renewed his criticism of former President Joe Biden and his administration over the use of an autopen to sign important orders, including pardons, during Biden's time in the White House. Speaking in the United Kingdom during a trip abroad, he said the device had been used illegally and that Biden did not know what documents were being signed, adding that one of the pardons many Republicans have highlighted was the one that benefited Biden's son.
A White House official told Fox News Digital that Biden signs all legally binding documents by hand. The Times reported that Biden's chief of staff Jeff Zients gave final approval for autopen use on several high-profile pardons in Biden's final days, including actions related to Anthony Fauci and Gen. Mark Milley, though Biden has said he made every clemency decision on his own.
Biden's use of clemency actions has been unusual by most standards, with Biden granting a total of 4,245 acts of clemency during his presidency. Pew Research Center data show that 96% of those acts were granted during the final months in office, between October 2024 and January 2025, a period in which a large share of presidential pardons and commutations were issued.
House Republicans have seized on the new disclosures to press for accountability, including a probe by the House Oversight Committee into Biden's mental acuity and the scope of the autopen orders. The committee is examining whether the former president was fully cognizant of clemency orders and other executive actions signed using the autopen, with Jeff Zients slated to appear before the panel on Thursday as part of the ongoing review.
An autopen is a machine that holds a pen and follows programming to imitate a signature. Unlike a stamp or a digital image of a signature, the autopen can accommodate a range of pen types. Fox News' Liz Elkind contributed to this report. Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
