House GOP Declares Autopen Pardons Void, Urges DOJ Probe

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee released a roughly 90–100-page report alleging President Biden’s aides routinely used the presidential autopen to sign executive actions, including hundreds of clemency warrants, and that many such actions lack contemporaneous documentation proving Biden personally authorized them. The report cites interviews with more than a dozen former senior White House aides and specific instances, saying 32 of 51 clemency warrants were autopen-signed; the committee has deemed those autopen-signed actions void and asked the Justice Department to investigate. Chairman James Comer asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and sought review by the D.C. Board of Medicine to assess legal consequences and whether pardons or other actions should be overturned or lead to prosecutions. The panel alleges Biden suffered cognitive decline and that senior aides staged appearances and managed decision-making as his capacity waned. The report does not present direct evidence that anyone besides Biden made substantive decisions and did not subpoena Biden to testify. Democrats and Biden dismissed the probe as partisan, and the committee’s referral to the DOJ could prompt protracted legal and constitutional battles over the validity of late-administration executive actions.