Donald Trump has claimed, without providing any evidence, that pardons issued by Joe Biden are “void, vacant and of no further force and effect” because they were signed using an autopen rather than personally by the president.

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What happened?

On 20 January, Biden’s final day in office, he issued pre-emptive pardons to family members and all members of the House committee that investigated the 6 January attack on Congress. The riot was incited by Trump as part of his attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Trump has frequently threatened members of the committee with legal action or imprisonment.

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Trump made his claim in a post on his social media platform, saying, “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. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!”

He added that committee members should “fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.”

Trump's autopen allegations

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Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump repeated his claim, saying, “It’s not my decision – that’ll be up to a court – but I would say that they’re null and void, because I’m sure Biden didn’t have any idea that it was taking place, and somebody was using an autopen to sign off and to give pardons.”

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He further claimed, again without proof, that committee members, including former Representative Liz Cheney, were “probably responsible for the documents that were signed on their behalf” without Biden’s knowledge.

What is an autopen?

An autopen is a device used to create automatic or remote signatures and has been utilised by public figures for decades.

Former President Barack Obama faced scrutiny in 2011 for allowing an aide to use an autopen to extend the Patriot Act, marking the first time a president had authorised such a signature. In 2013, he also used an autopen while on holiday in Hawaii to sign a bill preventing a financial crisis.

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Are autopen signatures valid?

A 2005 legal opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush confirmed that a president may direct a subordinate to “affix the President’s signature” to a document.

Did Biden use an autopen?

Biden has used an autopen in the past, but Trump has not provided any evidence that the pardons in question were signed without Biden’s involvement.

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Trump’s claims follow a report from the Heritage Foundation, a pro-Trump think tank, which suggested that “whoever controlled the autopen controlled the presidency.” However, Newsweek has reported that there is photographic evidence of Biden personally signing several documents that the Heritage Foundation claims were signed by an autopen.

Could Trump overturn the pardons in court?

Legal precedent suggests Trump’s argument would not hold up in court. In 1929, the US Justice Department ruled that the president has full discretion over how a pardon is issued. More recently, a federal appeals court ruled that presidential pardons do not even need to be in writing.

Committee members respond

Bennie Thompson, the former chair of the January 6 committee, dismissed Trump’s claim, telling Axios, “I am not afraid of Trump’s latest midnight rant that has no basis in reality.”

Meanwhile, Adam Kinzinger posted on X, “Please! You guys have been threatening this forever! Bring it on, it’s getting boring waiting.”

(With inputs from agencies)