Void pardons: House says Biden used autopen without proper authorization

A monthslong House investigation has concluded that President Biden “was losing command of himself” while in office and was not personally involved in many of the pardons, commutations and other executive actions signed by an autopen. Here’s what you need to know about the House report and its findings on Biden’s use of mechanical signatures:

House committee conclusions

Republican-led investigation questions validity of Biden’s executive actions:

• Monthslong House investigation has concluded that President Biden “was losing command of himself” while in office and was not personally involved in many of pardons, commutations and other executive actions signed by autopen
• Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked Justice Department to “address legal consequences” of House investigators’ conclusion, which “deems void” executive actions and clemency warrants signed by autopen during Biden administration that do not include documentation proving president made decision
• “The Committee requests that you investigate all executive actions taken during Biden Administration to ascertain whether they were duly authorized by President of the United States,” Chairman James Comer wrote

Report details and scope

91-page investigation examines Biden’s mental capacity and staff cover-up:

• Letter was addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi after release Tuesday of 91-page report authored by Republican-led committee on Mr. Biden’s use of autopen, his apparent cognitive decline while president, and “delusion and deception” among White House aides who Republican lawmakers say covered it up
• Oversight and Government Reform Committee interviewed more than dozen members of Biden White House inner circle to seek their recollection of former president’s mental acuity while in office and their roles in frequent use of autopen to sign critical documents on his behalf
• “Our report reveals how key aides colluded to mislead public and extraordinary measures they took to sustain appearance of presidential authority as Biden’s capacity to function independently diminished,” said Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican

Unprecedented clemency actions

Biden issued record number of pardons using mechanical signatures:

• Mr. Biden issued more pardons and commutations than any other president in history, and most were signed with mechanical signature even though he was physically present in White House
• His chief of staff, Jeff Zients, oversaw autopen signatures
• Autopen signed commutations for thousands of federal prisoners, many of them violent offenders, and was used to commute sentences of nearly every federal inmate on death row, among them people convicted of murder in deaths of children and law enforcement officers
• Autopen was also used to pardon members of Mr. Biden’s family and top political allies who he feared would be prosecuted under Trump administration
• Mr. Biden issued clemency to more than 4,200 people

Trump’s response and ongoing investigation

Current president questions validity of predecessor’s pardons:

• Mr. Trump, who has pardoned about 1,700 people over both terms, said Mr. Biden’s pardons were “void” because he did not sign them personally
• No steps have been taken to reverse those pardons
• Mr. Trump ordered Justice Department to examine matter, and that investigation continues

Justice Department findings

Federal investigators uncover documentation gaps:

• Justice Department also found numerous instances with no clear evidence or documentation that Mr. Biden participated in autopen sign-off of executive actions
• Justice Department investigators uncovered memo in which White House aides said they obtained sign-offs on clemency decisions from Vice President Kamala Harris, even though only president has constitutional pardoning authority
• When asked about House investigators’ memo, Mr. Zients denied that Ms. Harris played any role in deciding clemency. “No one would allow for that to happen,” he told lawmakers, according to transcribed interview

Problematic clemency cases

Many pardons went beyond intended scope:

• In final days of Mr. Biden’s presidency, clemency was granted to thousands of felons, many who had committed violent crimes and fell outside group of nonviolent drug offenders whose sentences Mr. Biden announced he was commuting
• Justice Department warned during Mr. Biden’s final days in office that many of people on his clemency list were “highly problematic” because they had committed murders and other crimes far outside scope of president’s intentions
• House investigators found that clemency actions “lacked decision memo” proving Mr. Biden was involved in sign-off, House report found

Staff resistance to testimony

Key Biden aides invoke Fifth Amendment rights:

• Several former Biden aides refused to testify and invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when House committee interviewed them in closed-door sessions
• Among them was White House physician Kevin O’Connor, who declined to say whether he was told to lie about Mr. Biden’s health or whether he thought Mr. Biden was fit to be president
• Dr. O’Connor, Mr. Biden’s longtime physician, never noted any cognitive decline while serving as presidential doctor
• He said he never gave Mr. Biden cognitive test despite growing public and private concerns about president’s mental fitness

Medical license investigation

House chairman seeks sanctions against White House physician:

• On Tuesday, Mr. Comer wrote to District of Columbia Board of Medicine and called on its members to investigate Dr. O’Connor and consider sanctioning his medical license
• Mr. Comer asked Justice Department to investigate Mr. O’Connor and top Biden aides Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini, who, like Dr. O’Connor, refused to answer committee’s questions
• Mr. Comer said they were “deeply involved in cover-up” of Mr. Biden’s cognitive decline
• “We request that you undertake investigation to determine if any action taken by these three individuals during course of their official duties in Biden White House constitutes criminal activity,” Mr. Comer wrote

Biden’s defense

Former president denies staff acted without his knowledge:

• Democrats said House investigation uncovered no wrongdoing
• Mr. Biden denied that staff were using autopen to sign documents without his knowledge
• Mr. Biden, 82, said he voiced permission for all clemency warrants, though not each case individually
• He said congressional Republicans and Mr. Trump were “liars” for claiming he was disengaged with his presidential duties
• “I made every decision,” Mr. Biden told New York Times in phone interview this summer
• Mr. Biden said autopen was used to sign clemency warrants because there were so many. “We’re talking about whole lot of people”
• Most of commutations were included in three autopen-signed warrants

Committee’s constitutional argument

Report questions delegation of presidential powers:

• “The investigation’s findings make clear that, as President Biden was losing command of himself throughout his time in office, his executive actions — especially pardons, of which there are many — cannot all be deemed his own,” report said
• “The authority to grant pardons is not provided to president’s inner circle. Nor can it be delegated to particular staff when president’s competency is in question”
• Washington Times has reached out to lawyers representing Ms. Tomasini, Mr. Bernal and Dr. O’Connor

Read more:

• House autopen probe deems Biden pardons void, asks DOJ to review legality