in World News Legal Analysis: Biden’s Autopen Pardons Are ‘Invalid’
by Matt Margolis
PJ Media has been covering the Joe Biden autopen scandal ever since it broke earlier this month. According to the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, the White House used an autopen to sign nearly every document Joe Biden signed. Given Biden’s cognitive decline, this revelation prompted concerns about whether he was aware of or authorized these actions.
The media largely ignored the issue until Donald Trump intervened, declaring Biden’s autopen-signed pardons “void” and claiming Biden “did not know anything about them.” This movie finally forced the media to pay attention to the scandal, and that’s pretty huge. This is a discussion that needs to take place, and while I’m skeptical that anything will ultimately come of it, legal scholars insist that anything that was the autopen signed may, in fact, be invalid.
Here’s legal analysis from the Oversight Project’s memorandum:
The United States Constitution vests numerous powers in one man and one man alone—the President of the United States. These powers include signing or vetoing bills, signing or vetoing orders, resolutions, or certain legislative votes, nominating and commissioning Officers, and granting reprieves and pardons. In all of these instances, the President’s personal action is required, i.e., he “shall” perform some action. These mandates are exclusive to the President. Therefore, it is well established that the President cannot delegate these decisions to anyone. The President affixing his wet signature not only signifies consent, but is the legally required act.
What happens when the president doesn’t personally sign documents exercising his powers, instead relying on a proxy or autopen to fulfill constitutional duties or issue pardons? And how does this change when the president lacks the mental or physical capacity to perform these duties?
“At its core, the longstanding historical practice that the President affix his wet signature to Acts of Congress and clemency warrants stems from the interconnected issues of authority and authenticity,” explains the Oversight Project. “The Constitution vests the execution of Executive powers, the signing of bills into law, and the awarding of pardons and clemency in one person—the President.”