Trump Declares 92% of Biden’s Autopen-Signed Documents Null and Void

President Donald Trump declared on Friday that approximately 92 percent of documents signed by his predecessor Joe Biden using an autopen—a mechanical signature device—stand terminated and devoid of legal force, escalating a long-standing campaign to discredit Biden's tenure. In a pointed social media post on Truth Social, Trump accused unnamed officials of unlawfully operating the autopen to conceal Biden's purported cognitive decline, thereby usurping presidential authority without his knowledge.

Trump's assertion extends beyond executive orders to encompass pardons, bills, and other official acts, which he claims were executed illicitly by "radical left lunatics" surrounding Biden at the Resolute Desk. This follows an earlier March declaration nullifying Biden-era directives and a House Republican report criticizing autopen usage, though it offered no concrete evidence of unauthorized signatures. Legal experts note that while presidents may revoke executive orders at will, invalidating congressional bills or pardons lacks precedent and could invite constitutional challenges.

Autopens have served U.S. presidents since the Truman era, with the Justice Department affirming in 2005 that a president may authorize an aide to affix their signature mechanically to legislation. Barack Obama pioneered remote autopen use in 2011 to sign a bill from Europe, and even Trump employed the device during his first term. Despite this history, Trump has repeatedly invoked Biden's alleged overreliance on it as proof of mental incapacity, particularly as Biden, aged 82 upon leaving office, issued final pardons targeting Trump critics, including his own son Hunter, lawmakers investigating the January 6 events, a dissenting military general, and Covid-19 advisor Anthony Fauci.

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Conservative legal analyst Ed Whelan acknowledged Trump's latitude to rescind executive orders regardless of signing method but cautioned against extending the revocation to "anything else," such as enacted laws or clemencies, which enjoy firmer constitutional protections. Among potentially affected measures are Biden's Executive Order 14087 on reducing prescription drug costs, 14096 advancing environmental justice, and 14110 regulating artificial intelligence development—initiatives Trump has vowed to dismantle.

As Trump, now 79 and set to depart office in January 2029, pursues this unilateral action, it underscores deepening partisan rifts over presidential legitimacy and governance. Biden has dismissed the autopen allegations as "ridiculous and false," insisting all decisions bore his direct imprimatur. The move risks judicial scrutiny, potentially testing the boundaries of executive overreach in an era of polarized politics.

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