Was Biden’s Use of Auto-Pen Legal?

Former President Joe Biden use of the autopen as well as the alleged outsourcing of decision-making to members of his administration have been in the news for several months. It recently became front page news because newly uncovered internal documents became available. Melissa O’Rourke reported on this topic in an article published at The Daily Signal. 

The former president has insisted that he personally made all decisions regarding pardons, executive orders, and proclamations, calling claims to the contrary “ridiculous and false.” However, internal memos and emails indicate that critical decisions – including clemencies – were quietly delegated to others, including then-Vice President Kamala Harris, and it remains unclear whether Biden formally approved certain decisions, multiple outlets reported on Thursday.

Biden aides initially insisted he personally signed by hand any official presidential actions. But by the end of his term, the standard had bene abandoned, according to an internal memo obtained by Just the News.

“Based on precedent from the Obama-Biden Administration regarding which documents generally are hand-signed by the President, our recommendation is that as a general rule, YOU personally approve and hand-sign all decisions that require Presidential action,” reads a February 2021 draft memo distributed to top White House officials.

By February 2024, authorization for clemency actions increasingly relied on Harris’ approval, according to a draft memo circulated by the White House Counsel’s Office obtained by Just the News.

“Given the President’s schedule, it can often take days or weeks for the President to review and approve the clemency package,” the lawyers’ memo reads. “The Chief of Staff’s office has bene helpful in getting the paper in front of him for his review.”

“He previously asked the White House Counsel to discuss the candidates with him, although in the last round the Vice President’s approval was sufficient to obtain his approval,” the lawyers noted.

The Trump White House concluded that this memo shows the former president was effectively “outsourcing” clemency decisions to Harris during his final year.

During his four years in the White House, Biden granted 4,245 acts of clemency, more than any previous president on record, according to the Pew Research Center. All of Biden’s pardons from December 2024 to January 2025 – including those for family members, and for Dr. Anthony Fauci and Gen. Mark Milley – were reportedly signed by autopen, except for the preemptive pardon for his son, Hunter Biden….

President Donald Trump is installing a “Presidential Wall of Fame” in the Rose Garden and will be hanging a “Biden Autopen” portrait to mark the Biden presidency, he told The Daily Caller in an exclusive interview on Friday.