President Donald Trump has directed his administration to launch an investigation into Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging a “dangerous conspiracy” surrounding Biden’s use of an autopen. Trump claims that Biden’s aides used the device to mask signs of his cognitive decline, casting doubt on the legitimacy of important presidential actions, including pardons and executive orders.
This move marks a significant escalation in Trump’s ongoing efforts to challenge the legitimacy of his political adversaries. The investigation could provide the groundwork for Republicans to argue that Biden’s presidential decisions are invalid.
In a statement issued Wednesday night, Biden firmly rejected the accusations, saying, “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
Trump’s claims about the use of the autopen have raised eyebrows. The autopen, a machine that replicates a person’s signature, has been used by U.S. presidents for decades to sign official documents in their absence. There’s no evidence that Biden was unaware of the actions taken in his name, and the president’s constitutional right to issue pardons is well-established.
However, Trump continues to allege that Biden’s aides purposefully hid the true extent of his involvement in the decision-making process. “This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history,” Trump wrote in a memo. “The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”
Trump has instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel David Warrington to oversee the investigation.
The investigation’s scope remains unclear, but it is a clear reflection of Trump’s ongoing focus on Biden. Trump has never conceded his 2020 loss to Biden and continues to push false claims of a rigged election. The autopen issue is just the latest in a series of attacks against his successor.
Biden’s use of the autopen, particularly in signing pardons, has become a focal point for Trump and his supporters. Although the autopen has been a tool of past administrations, Trump insists that Biden’s aides used it to bypass presidential authority.
In the final days of his presidency, Biden issued pardons for his brothers and sister, likely in an effort to shield them from potential prosecution under Trump, who had promised retaliation during the campaign. Biden also granted pardons to individuals involved in investigating the January 6th Capitol riot.
Trump has often suggested that his political opponents should face investigations, having previously directed the Justice Department to look into figures like Chris Krebs, the former cybersecurity official who disputed Trump’s election fraud claims, and Miles Taylor, a former Homeland Security official who criticized Trump anonymously.
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky has requested interviews with five former senior Biden aides, claiming they were involved in a “cover-up” of Biden’s alleged cognitive decline.
“These five former senior advisors were eyewitnesses to President Biden’s condition and operations within the Biden White House,” Comer stated. “They must appear before the House Oversight Committee and provide truthful answers about President Biden’s cognitive state and who was calling the shots.”
Comer has also called for testimony from Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, and other former White House officials. He warned that subpoenas will be issued if they do not voluntarily agree to testify.
Rep. Comer has made it clear that this investigation is just the beginning. “I think that people will start coming in the next two weeks,” Comer said. “We’ll release the transcribed interviews, so it’ll be very transparent.”
Democrats have dismissed the investigation as a distraction.
“Chairman Comer had his big shot in the last Congress to impeach Joe Biden, and it was, of course, a spectacular flop,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland. “And now he’s just living off of a spent dream. It’s over. And he should give up the whole thing.”
Republicans, however, are determined to continue their inquiry into Biden’s actions during his presidency, focusing particularly on his final executive decisions, such as the issuance of pardons and new federal rules.
Rep. Brandon Gill, a freshman Republican, argued, “The American people didn’t elect a bureaucracy to run the country. I think that the American people deserve to know the truth and they want to know the truth of what happened.”
The investigation has gained additional attention due to the release of Original Sin, a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson. The book claims that Biden was not the main decision-maker during his presidency and suggests that a group of five key advisers was actually in charge. “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board,” Tapper and Thompson wrote.
Biden and his family have vehemently denied these claims. Biden’s granddaughter, Naomi, called the book “political fairy smut for the permanent, professional chattering class.”
As for Biden’s debate performance during the 2020 campaign, it raised questions about his mental acuity, with Biden occasionally losing his train of thought and struggling to deliver coherent answers. These moments fueled ongoing concerns about his age and cognitive health, leading him to step down from the 2024 race. He was replaced on the Democratic ticket by Kamala Harris, who ultimately lost the election to Trump.
