The new report shows that many executive actions from Biden were signed by autopen.
The House Oversight Committee Chair, James Comer (R-Kentucky), is pushing for the DOJ to conduct a review of Biden’s executive actions during the length of his term. According to Fox News, momentum for the investigation is gaining not only in Washington, D.C., but also in Delaware.
Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X about investigation, stating, “My team has already initiated a review of the Biden’s administrations reported use of autopen for pardons.” She wrote that this information from Comer is extremely helpful as they continue to work to deliver accountability.
The autopen is a mechanical device that replicates a U.S. president’s signature on official documents when they are unable to sign personally, typically due to travel or scheduling constraints – not because of cognitive decline. It uses a programmed stylus to reproduce the president’s handwritten signature with high accuracy.
Biden’s autopen first came under public scrutiny in March of this year when the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project posted on X claiming that "WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE AUTOPEN CONTROLLED THE PRESIDENCY." They alleged that all of Biden’s official documents used the same autopen signature, except for his announcement dropping out of the 2024 race.
This post gained traction and was later amplified by President Donald Trump, who in June 2025 directed a formal investigation into the matter, alleging Biden was unaware of many actions signed via autopen.
The Oversights Committee’s month-long scrutiny looked into the alleged coverup on the decline of Biden’s mental condition from those close to him and their alleged use of the autopen without his consent.
The report states that White House aides hid the ex-president’s condition under the guidance of Biden’s inner circle. It also showed that there was a “haphazard documentation process” for the presidential pardons, making it suspicious on whether Biden was the one to make that choice. This opens questions regarding the pardon given to Hunter Biden, the former president’s son.
Biden argued that the charges -- related to gun possession and tax evasion -- were disproportionately pursued compared to similar cases, especially given Hunter’s recovery from addiction and full repayment of taxes with penalties.
Back in March, Trump posted on Truth Social that Biden’s pardons were “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT” because the pardons were carried out by autopen and not explained or approved by Biden.
Rep. Michael Cloud, a Texas Republican, spoke to Jodi Hice on Washington Watch about the autopen report.
“What so many Americans expected has been true -- many, many people were wondering who was really running the White House -- and what we found out is the staff was doing quite a bit of the work, even when it came to signing executive orders or signing pardons,” Cloud said.
Cloud says that this is especially troubling when finding out that staff members were approving the use of the autopen. Even the head of Biden’s Department of Justice, Attorney General Merrick Garland (shown above), thought that using the autopen machine for things with any sort of legal merit was probably not a good idea, Cloud said.
“You know, birthday cards and Christmas cards. We understand you can't invoke millions to handwritten signatures from the president. But when it comes to things that have legal consequences, the president needs to be involved, certainly needs to know about it and actually be the one signing it,” states Cloud.
