‘Ridiculous and false’: Joe Biden refutes autopen misuse allegations as Trump orders probe into ‘conspiracy’

Former US President Joe Biden defended himself on Wednesday amid allegations of autopen misuse, asserting his full control of White House operations during his presidency.The now-president Donald Trump initiated an inquiry into Biden’s administration, claiming that senior officials employed autopen signatures to mask the former president’s mental deterioration.Refuting the claims, Biden released a statement asserting, “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”“This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations,” he continued.This comes as Trump, on Wednesday, directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate top Biden officials, suggesting they possibly collaborated to mislead the public about his cognitive state and exercised presidential authority via autopen.An autopen functions as a mechanical apparatus that produces genuine-looking signatures through the physical control of writing tools. These devices differ from traditional stamps and digital signature printing methods, as they work with diverse writing implements ranging from ballpoint pens to permanent markers, according to product details of commercially available autopens, as Fox News reported.Notably, The Justice Department has accepted the practice of using autopen for signing both legislation and pardons across various presidential administrations. The presidential pardon power, as explicitly outlined in the Constitution, is absolute, and Trump’s assertions regarding Biden’s knowledge of specific actions remain unsubstantiated without any supporting evidence.Also read: What is Autopen? Signature device used by Biden to sign pardons; Trump orders inquiryIn a Wednesday memo, Trump emphasised that presidential signatures carry substantial authority and responsibility. These signatures transform proposals into laws, enable governmental appointments, establish or remove national policies, and grant prisoner releases. “In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,” Trump wrote. “This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts,” he added.“Given clear indications that President Biden lacked the capacity to exercise his Presidential authority, if his advisors secretly used the mechanical signature pen to conceal this incapacity, while taking radical executive actions all in his name, that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the Presidency, a circumstance that would have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions undertaken in Biden’s name,” Trump further said.House Republicans, under Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s leadership, commenced an investigation last month to assess whether Biden, experiencing declining health in his presidency’s final months, was mentally capable of authorising autopen usage. Comer indicated last week he would consider requiring Biden to appear before the House for questioning if needed.Trump has made similar accusations in the past as well. In March, Trump argued that any preemptive pardons signed by President Biden using an autopen for House select committee members who conducted the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack investigation would be deemed “void” and “vacant.”