US President Donald Trump reiterated on Tuesday (local time) that any official document signed by his predecessor Joe Biden using automatic opening is hereby declared “null and void, of no further force and effect”.
An autopen, a device used to accurately replicate a person’s signature, is generally used for large-volume documents or ceremonial documents. According to Reuters, presidents of both parties used the autopen to sign letters and proclamations.
Trump and his MAGA support base make baseless claims that Biden was not fully aware of what documents he was signing, or that the use of this pen completely invalidated his actions. There is no record of the former president using a pen to sign the pardon.
“All documents, proclamations, executive orders, memoranda or contracts signed by order of the now infamous and unauthorized “AUTOPEN” under the administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. are hereby null and void and of no further force or effect.” Trump made the announcement in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Anyone who receives ‘Pardons’, ‘Commutations’ or any other legal document so signed is hereby notified that said document has been completely and utterly terminated and is of no legal effect. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he further added.
Biden granted a series of pardons before leaving office in January, including one for his son Hunter, who previously faced two counts — pleading guilty to a tax charge and also being found guilty of buying a gun while on illegal narcotics.
In pardoning Hunter, Biden said he was “picked on” and called the charges against him a “miscarriage of justice.”
Biden also commuted the sentences of non-violent drug offenders before leaving office.
Trump has on numerous occasions questioned his predecessor’s mental fitness and suggested that his aides made key decisions for him.
This is not the first time Trump has spoken about his decision to use Biden’s autopen. On Friday (Nov. 29), he said on Truth Social: “Any document signed by a sleepy Joe Biden with an Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated and of no further validity or effect. The Autopen is not authorized to be used unless specifically authorized by the President of the United States.”
“The radical leftist lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office have taken away his presidency. I hereby rescind all executive orders and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden because the people who ran the Autopen did so illegally. Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and if he is indicted by the US, he has been charged with wrongdoing,” the president said. he said.
