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Trump says Biden’s pardons are ‘void and vacant’
(MENAFN) Former US President Donald trump has challenged the Legitimacy of pardons issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden, claiming they were neither properly signed nor authorized.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump dismissed the clemency orders as “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT,” alleging that Biden was unaware of them and did not personally sign them. The controversy surrounds preemptive pardons granted by Biden to several Political figures, including members of the Congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The Biden administration justified the move as protection against potential prosecutions under a second Trump presidency.
Concerns over the legitimacy of the pardons intensified after the Oversight Project, a conservative Heritage Foundation initiative, reported that an autopen device—used for mechanically reproducing signatures—had been extensively utilized during Biden’s presidency. The report suggested that control over the autopen might have equated to control over executive decisions.
While US law does not require a president to personally sign documents, critics have questioned whether Biden’s alleged frailty in his later years allowed staff to bypass his authority. Trump claimed that members of the January 6 committee orchestrated their own pardons without Biden’s approval, stating that “he knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”
During a speech at the Department of Justice last Friday, Trump further criticized Biden’s use of the autopen, calling it “disrespectful to the office” and potentially “not even valid.”
The use of writing aids in the White House dates back over two centuries, with President Thomas Jefferson employing a duplication device to copy letters. The administration of George W. Bush previously argued that autopen-signed documents hold legal validity, including presidential signatures on bills. However, Trump and his allies have demanded an investigation into whether Biden’s pardons were legally executed.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump dismissed the clemency orders as “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT,” alleging that Biden was unaware of them and did not personally sign them. The controversy surrounds preemptive pardons granted by Biden to several Political figures, including members of the Congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The Biden administration justified the move as protection against potential prosecutions under a second Trump presidency.
Concerns over the legitimacy of the pardons intensified after the Oversight Project, a conservative Heritage Foundation initiative, reported that an autopen device—used for mechanically reproducing signatures—had been extensively utilized during Biden’s presidency. The report suggested that control over the autopen might have equated to control over executive decisions.
While US law does not require a president to personally sign documents, critics have questioned whether Biden’s alleged frailty in his later years allowed staff to bypass his authority. Trump claimed that members of the January 6 committee orchestrated their own pardons without Biden’s approval, stating that “he knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”
During a speech at the Department of Justice last Friday, Trump further criticized Biden’s use of the autopen, calling it “disrespectful to the office” and potentially “not even valid.”
The use of writing aids in the White House dates back over two centuries, with President Thomas Jefferson employing a duplication device to copy letters. The administration of George W. Bush previously argued that autopen-signed documents hold legal validity, including presidential signatures on bills. However, Trump and his allies have demanded an investigation into whether Biden’s pardons were legally executed.
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