Legal in America: Trump questions Biden's use of autopen, calls it 'most dangerous conspiracy in history'

US President Donald Trump continued questioning Biden's excessive use of autopen as he launched an investigation against the former president and his administration. But, Trump himself has used autopen during his presidency.

In March this year, Trump acknowledged that he used the autopen but said he turned to it “only for very unimportant papers,” such as responses to letters.

“But to use them for — for what they’ve used them for is terrible,” he added, referring to Biden.

Trump accusation

US President Donald Trump ordered a wide-ranging probe into former president Joe Biden and his administration on Wednesday (June 4). He alleged that Biden's aides used "autopen" signatures to hide his "cognitive decline" and assert presidential power.

From undoing several policies from his administration to mocking his declining health, Trump has used Biden as a political foil multiple times since his return to the White House in January.

In his announcement, Trump directed the White House counsel and Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch an investigation and find if anyone "conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President."

"This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history," Trump wrote in a memo.

"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," the current US president added.

In the memo of Wednesday, Trump said that if Biden’s aides “secretly” used the pen to conceal his alleged decline while they were taking executive actions in his stead, “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."

What does the law say?

As per the US Department of Justice (DOJ), "the President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law. Rather, the President may sign a bill within the meaning of Article I, Section 7 by directing a subordinate to affix the President’s signature to such a bill, for example by autopen."

Biden's defence

Meanwhile, Biden defended himself, saying the investigation was a "distraction" from Trump and Republican lawmakers.

"Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden said.