Former President Joe Biden has defended his use of an autopen while granting clemency to over 1,500 individuals at the end of his presidency, amid growing Republican criticism and accusations questioning his mental acuity. In a recent interview with The New York Times on July 10, Biden explained his rationale for using the autopen to sign pardons, which he described as a necessary tool for efficiency in the final days of his term.
The clemency Biden issued in the last weeks of his presidency was considered historic, marking the largest single-day act of clemency by any U.S. president. While Biden granted the pardons, he clarified that he made all the decisions personally. “We’re talking about [granting clemency to] a whole lot of people,” Biden said during the interview.
However, the New York Times report revealed that Biden did not personally approve each individual pardon for the large groups of people affected. Instead, after thorough discussions about the criteria for clemency, Biden signed off on the standards used to determine which convicts would qualify for sentence reductions. Due to the volume of documents, Biden’s staff used an autopen to apply his signature to the final documents, sparing him from having to sign each one individually.
Biden’s use of the autopen has sparked criticism, particularly from Republican leaders, who have questioned the decision. In June, former President Donald Trump issued a memo to the Department of Justice, instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the use of the autopen, alleging it was indicative of Biden’s declining cognitive abilities.
Trump wrote, “In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority.”
Trump went on to describe the situation as “one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history,” accusing Biden’s aides of using the autopen to obscure who was actually wielding executive power.
Trump, who himself has used an autopen, expressed his disapproval, calling it “inappropriate” to use such technology for important documents. “Usually, when they put documents in front of you, they’re important,” Trump said. “You really deserve to get a real signature… not an autopen signature.”
Biden’s defenders, however, argue that using the autopen was a practical solution given the scale of the pardons. The issue has sparked heated online debate, with critics questioning Biden’s ability to make decisions. On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), one user wrote, “He made ‘every decision’ he was allowed to make by his handlers. I doubt he knew much towards the end.”
Another comment suggested, “Easy enough; just ask Biden to name everyone he pardoned. Everyone he forgets is null and void.” As the controversy over the use of the autopen continues to unfold, it remains a point of contention among both political parties and the public.