In an unforeseen move, Donald Trump declared that the pardons passed by Joe Biden were “void, vacant, and of no further force or effect.” The President took to Truth Social to make this announcement, adding that the individuals who conducted a “two-year witch hunt” on him would be “subject to investigation at the highest level.”
The post by Donald Trump voiding the Biden Administration pardons reads, “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! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”
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Trump continued, “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. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!”
Joe Biden, in a White House statement after issuing the pardons said, “America is a country built on the promise of second chances. As President, I have used my clemency power to make that promise a reality by issuing more individual pardons and commutations than any other President in U.S. history.”
But can a presidential pardon be scrapped on the grounds of it being signed with an autopen? In short, no. The US Department of Justice has affirmed that documents signed with an autopen are valid as long as the President has authorized it. The first President to use an autopen for official documents was Barack Obama, who in 2011 signed a bill into law using an autopen while he was overseas.
The Constitution does not explicitly specify whether a pardon must be personally signed by the President, thereby making the authorized use of autopen legally valid.
However, Donald Trump’s post claims that Joe Biden “did not know anything about them” and that they were not “explained to or approved by” him. If these claims are true, the legitimacy of the pardons is questionable, to say the least.
But, that can only be determined by legal experts, who are yet to speak on it as there are no investigative developments concerning the validity of the pardons yet.
