President Trump is threatening to have perjury charges brought against Joe Biden if the former president says he played a role in the executive orders he signed with an autopen.
Trump announced Friday he plans to terminate all documents Biden signed with the autopen, claiming the autopen was used without Biden’s full approval.
“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him,” Trump posted. “I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally. Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”
To be charged with perjury, Biden would have to lie under oath at a congressional hearing or another proceeding. There is no congressional effort presently to have Biden testify for any investigations. Trump did not specify whether he was ordering the Department of Justice to launch a criminal prosecution against Biden. Perjury charges would not be applicable to public statements Biden has made about autopen usage that were not delivered under oath.
The House Oversight Committee conducted an investigation this year into Biden’s autopen usage and whether his aides covered up the extent of Biden’s mental decline. The investigation specifically examined the abuse of the autopen by senior Biden officials toward the end of his term.
In October, the House Oversight Committee released its findings in a detailed report accusing Biden officials of using his presidential authority and initiating executives actions without Biden’s direct authorization, including the use of the autopen to sign executive orders. Biden administration officials did so while his mental acuity declined and top aides worked to conceal it. The Oversight Committee’s conclusions were based on 14 interviews with high-ranking Biden officials over the course of several months.
National Review previously reported on the chaotic and insular decision-making process for determining commutations for violent criminals. Families of the victims of the criminals whose sentences were commuted were not consulted during the process. Biden’s sweeping pardon of troubled son Hunter was not signed with the autopen.
House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) praised Trump’s decision to rescind Biden’s executive actions undertaken with the autopen.
“I applaud President Trump for deeming President Biden’s autopen actions null and void. The House Oversight Committee recently exposed how the Biden Autopen Presidency is one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history,” Comer said.
“Americans witnessed President Biden’s decline with their own eyes, Biden’s inner circle sought to deceive the public, conceal his condition, and take unauthorized executive actions using the autopen — actions that are now invalid. The House Oversight Committee delivered crucial transparency, and now President Trump and his administration are delivering accountability,” Comer added.
After the House Oversight Committee’s investigation concluded, Comer urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to review all of the Biden administration’s executive actions and scrutinize three top Biden aides who plead the Fifth during the investigation.