Former President Biden Defends Autopen Use During Pardons
Former President Joe Biden recently defended his use of an autopen during a New York Times interview, shedding light on his administration’s rationale for the controversial use of the technology.
The interview focused on Biden’s use of an autopen during the last pardons he made at the end of his term.
During his final weeks in office, Biden granted clemency and pardoned over 1,500 individuals, which was hailed as the largest single-day act of clemency by a US president.
Biden emphasized that he made every decision himself, especially when it came to granting clemency to a large number of people.
However, it was revealed that Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people.
Instead, after discussions on criteria, Biden signed off on standards to determine who would qualify for a reduction in sentence.
His staff used an autopen to put Biden’s signature on the final version of official documents, avoiding the need for repeated requests for signatures.
Republicans criticized Biden for his autopen use on official documents, with President Donald Trump even directing an investigation into the matter.
Trump raised concerns about the use of autopen, suggesting that it was inappropriate and could be related to Biden’s mental state decline.
He described the autopen use as a dangerous scandal that concealed the wielder of executive power and affected policy shifts.
Trump expressed his belief that using an autopen was inappropriate, even though past presidents had used them for official documents like ambassadorships.
He emphasized the importance of a real signature for individuals dedicating years to ambassadorial roles.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
