Trump says Biden pardons are 'VOID' over use of autopen
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump claimed former President Joe Biden's pardons for members of the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are 'VOID," alleging they were signed via an autopen.
What Trump said:
"The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen," Trump claimed in a Truth Social post.
"In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime," Trump added.
The president continued in his post, "Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!"
On Jan. 20, Biden announced pardons for "General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee."
"These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions," Biden noted.
The backstory:
Trump's claims come after the Heritage Foundation Oversight Project, a right wing think tank, posted on X that an "autopen signature" was used across almost "every document" it could find.
What is an autopen?
An autopen is a device designed to replicate a handwritten signature, without the direct involvement of a human. The signature is digitally recorded and stored, and a robotic arm holding a pen or pencil signs a replica of the signature.
Previously presidents used signature copying devices, all the way back to Thomas Jefferson who used a machine known as a polygraph in 1804, per the National Museum of American History.