Washington, D.C. – President Donald Trump has ordered a sweeping investigation into former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen to sign executive orders, pardons, and other documents, alleging it constitutes fraud and a cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline. The probe, announced on June 4, 2025, via a presidential memorandum reported by Reuters, accuses Biden’s aides of deceiving the public about his mental state, potentially undermining the legitimacy of over 1,200 presidential actions. Biden has dismissed the claims as “ridiculous,” but the controversy has reignited debates over transparency and executive authority.
Trump’s memorandum directs White House Counsel David Warrington and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether Biden’s aides used the autopen—a device that replicates signatures, used routinely by presidents, including Trump—to conceal Biden’s alleged incapacity. The probe focuses on clemency grants, executive orders, and memoranda, questioning who authorized their signatures and whether Biden was fully aware of the actions taken in his name, per The New York Times. Trump cited Biden’s faltering 2024 debate performance and a 2024 special counsel report by Robert Hur, which described Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” as evidence of diminished capacity.
Biden, now 82 and battling prostate cancer, fired back in a statement to NPR, asserting, “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.” He called the investigation a distraction from Trump’s push for legislation cutting programs like Medicaid. Democrats, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, argue the probe is a baseless vendetta, noting that autopen use is standard and legally authorized, per CNN. Legal experts, like those cited in POLITICO, affirm that autopen signatures carry the same weight as manual ones when approved by the president.
The investigation, which dovetails with a House Oversight Committee inquiry led by Rep. James Comer, has raised eyebrows for its timing and scope. Comer’s probe, per NBC News, seeks testimony from Biden’s aides about his mental fitness, focusing on late-term pardons for family members and 37 death row inmates, converted to life sentences. The Justice Department’s pardon attorney, Ed Martin, is examining whether Biden was “competent” during these actions, per Reuters. Critics warn the probe could set a precedent for politicizing routine presidential practices, with no evidence yet showing unauthorized autopen use.
Republicans, emboldened by Trump’s claims, argue the investigation is crucial for accountability. A Fox News report noted that a pro-energy group, Power the Future, demanded a similar review of Biden’s climate orders, alleging they were signed without his knowledge, impacting energy policy. However, DailyMail’s analysis of 25 Biden and Trump signatures found consistent autopen use by both, undermining claims of irregularity. As the probe unfolds, it risks deepening partisan divides, with Democrats accusing Trump of deflecting from his own tariff-driven price hikes and controversial pardons, per The Washington Post.
