Trump Says Biden’s Pardon Orders Have No Validity

President Trump declares former President Biden’s pardons invalid due to autopen signatures, throwing the fate of high-profile figures like Fauci and Jan. 6 committee members into uncertainty.

Key Insights

President Trump has declared Biden’s pardons “void, vacant, and of no future force of effect” due to alleged autopen signatures rather than authentic presidential signatures.
Trump claims Biden was unaware of the pardons issued in his name, suggesting cognitive decline and possible legal impropriety in the pardoning process.
January 6 committee members, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and General Mark Milley are among those whose pardons are now being questioned.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has called for a DOJ investigation into the constitutionality of autopen-signed pardons.
The controversy may ultimately be decided in court, potentially exposing previously pardoned individuals to legal jeopardy.

Presidential Authority Questioned

President Donald Trump has made a bold declaration that could dramatically alter the legal standing of numerous high-profile figures pardoned by his predecessor. In a statement that has sent shockwaves through Washington, Trump asserted that pardons issued by former President Biden via autopen are constitutionally invalid. At the center of this controversy are members of the January 6 Select Committee, Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley, and others who received pardons during Biden’s final days in office.

“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 stated in his announcement. The question of who was actually making decisions in the Biden White House has taken center stage, with Trump directly suggesting that Biden, at age 82, lacked the mental capacity to understand the pardons issued under his authority.

Let’s break this down carefully and address the core question: Is it illegal for a president to use an autopen signature on pardons, and does it affect their legal validity?

The use of an autopen—a machine that replicates a person’s signature—has been a common practice among…

— Brandon Adkins (@wilson72091) March 12, 2025

Legal Questions Emerge

The constitutional validity of autopen-signed pardons is now facing serious legal scrutiny. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has called for a Department of Justice investigation into the matter, questioning whether an autopen signature meets the constitutional requirements for valid presidential actions. While autopens have been used by previous administrations for routine documents, the use for presidential pardons raises unprecedented questions about executive authority and the necessary personal involvement of a president in clemency decisions.

“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,” Trump said.

The Oversight Project, associated with the Heritage Foundation, has played a significant role in challenging the legitimacy of Biden’s orders by providing evidence of identical signatures across multiple documents. While Fox News has reported that Trump’s own executive orders showed consistent signatures suggesting similar autopen use, Trump’s team has not addressed this comparison directly, keeping focus on Biden’s mental capacity at the time pardons were issued.

White House Decision-Making Under Scrutiny

Perhaps most concerning are reports from former Biden staffers suggesting that key White House personnel may have been making presidential-level decisions as Biden’s cognitive abilities declined. “I feared no one as much as I feared that [staffer]. To me, [the staffer] basically was the president. No one ever questioned [the staffer]. Period,” said one former Biden aide, raising serious questions about who was actually governing during Biden’s tenure.

The implications of this controversy extend well beyond political squabbling. If courts determine these pardons to be invalid, it could leave numerous prominent figures legally exposed. Biden’s clemency actions were extensive, including pardons for his son Hunter Biden, nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses, and several activists and public servants. Trump has stated that the final determination of validity will rest with the courts, but his administration appears prepared to challenge these pardons directly.

“The prolific use of autopen by the Biden White House was an instrument to hide the truth from the American people as to who was running the government,” said Mike Howell.