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Ex-presidents

GOP Lawmaker Vows to Probe Biden's Autopen Use, Threatening Judicial Appointments and Executive Orders

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer has announced an investigation into former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen, a machine that replicates a president's signature. Comer will examine executive orders, pardons, and judicial appointments signed with the autopen, including those of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The investigation raises concerns about the legality of Biden's decisions and whether he was mentally fit to make them.

Key Takeaways:

  • James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, has launched an investigation into former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen.
  • The investigation will review executive orders, pardons, and judicial appointments signed with the autopen, including those of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
  • Comer's inquiry may threaten the legality of Biden's decisions, including those related to pardons and judicial appointments.
  • Experts agree that there is no legal mechanism for a court to overturn a presidential pardon, and the president's power to grant pardons is "unlimited."
  • The investigation comes as Trump has already revoked dozens of Biden's executive orders, making an investigation into their legality moot.
  • Comer has supported Trump's claims that Biden's autopen use was improper and may have threatened the validity of judicial appointments, including that of Justice Jackson.
  • Trump has resorted to arguing that Biden was too senile to make decisions and that his aides were running the White House via autopen, claims that Biden has repeatedly denied.
  • The investigation will examine whether the autopen was used to sign pre-emptive pardons for Congressional members who investigated Trump's role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Statistics:

  • 187: the number of district court judges appointed by Biden.
  • 45: the number of appeals court judges appointed by Biden, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
  • 2005: the year in which the Department of Justice released a memo stating that the autopen is a legally valid way for the president to sign bills.
  • 1: the Supreme Court case (Trump v. Biden) in which the court held that the president's power to grant pardons is "unlimited."

Sources:

  • "GOP Chair James Comer Used Electronic Signature to Sign Autopen Docs" on The Daily Beast.
  • "James Comer Announces New Investigation into Biden over Use of Autopen" on The Daily Beast.
  • "Fact-Checking Trump's Claim that Biden Pardons are Void Because He Used an Autopen" on PBS NewsHour.
  • "The Supreme Court and the President's Pardon Power" on SCOTUSblog.

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