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By Sophie Clark
Live News Reporter
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President Donald Trump has admitted that he uses an autopen to sign "only very unimportant papers."
Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on Monday, he said: "If you do letters where people write in and they'd love to have a response and we write responses—I'll sign them whenever I can, but when I can't I will use an autopen."
It comes after Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that Joe Biden's 11th hour pardons of members of Congress who investigated the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol were "void, vacant and of no further effect" because he allegedly used an autopen — a device that replicates a person's signature.
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Why It Matters
Biden issued last-minute preemptive pardons to members of the January 6 committee to prevent Trump from seeking "revenge" against them.
Trump repeatedly claimed that the January 6 committee, led by Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and former Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, "destroyed" evidence collected over the course of their two-year investigation. Trump has never provided evidence to support this claim.
Biden also issued preemptive pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and retired General Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been highly critical of Trump's actions around the January 6 attack.
What To Know
On Monday, Trump said that the pardons issued by Biden for the January 6 committee were void, claiming he used an autopen to write them.
"The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen," he wrote on Truth Social.
"In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime."
Speaking later on Monday regarding Biden's alleged autopen use, Trump added: "To use them for what they've used them for is terrible."
Trump's argument that Biden's pardons are void due to his alleged use of an autopen follows similar claims made recently by the Oversight Project, an arm of the right-wing think tank behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation.
The group alleges that Biden used the same autopen signature on a number of official documents, including presidential pardons. Several Trump allies have reignited criticism of Biden's apparent cognitive decline and questioned whether he personally approved the actions.
Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said "it's not my decision" whether Biden's pardons can be voided, and that it would ultimately be up to the courts.
However, Frank Bowman, professor at the University of Missouri School of Law who has written about presidential pardon power, told Newsweek that a "pardon, once issued, cannot be voided by a succeeding president."
Bowman said it would not matter if the former president used an autopen because there's "no question that Biden authorized and intended to issue these pardons."
What People Are Saying
Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday: "Those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!"
The National Archives told the fact-checking website Snopes: "At the beginning of each administration, the White House sends a sample of the President's signature to the Office of the Federal Register, which uses it to create the graphic image for all Presidential Documents published in the Federal Register."
What Happens Next
It is not yet clear whether Trump will attempt to void the pardons granted by Biden, or whether a court would ratify it over claims they were signed using an autopen.
Peter Shane, a U.S. constitutional and administrative law scholar and professor at New York University, told Newsweek that the use of an autopen "does not void the pardons."
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