Former President Joe Biden strongly rejected claims from President Donald Trump, who announced an investigation into Biden’s use of the autopen and his mental fitness.
“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations,” Biden said in a statement released to outlets, including Axios. “Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
Biden slammed the investigation as a distraction, accusing Trump and Congressional Republicans of trying to deflect from their own agenda.
“This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations,” Biden added.
The investigation was announced by Trump, directing the president’s legal counsel, in consultation with Attorney General Pam Bondi and others, to look into whether certain individuals “conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President.”
The probe focuses on Biden’s use of the autopen, a device used to sign documents when the president is unavailable.
Biden’s health has been under increasing scrutiny, especially after his diagnosis of Stage 4 prostate cancer and the release of the book Original Sin by Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper, which raised questions about his administration and fitness for office.
