Trump claims Biden autopen orders should be void

One of my favorite reports of the week centers around the use of the autopen for orders and pardons issued during the Biden administration.

Trump set the news world on fire by claiming the orders were void, so I want to take a bit of a dive into this.

What is the autopen?

The autopen was patented in 1803 and was introduced into the White House by Thomas Jefferson, who used the pen rather extensively. The device replicates a signature, or, during that time, complete letters. Today, the machine has evolved to replicate the signature digitally, far more advanced than the first machines and even later machines that used a template to create the signature.

The use of the autopen regarding its constitutionality has been the topic of discussion for many years, and even challenged by at least one president. This has been a pet peeve of Republicans for some time.

The argument today remains the same…

Should an autopen be used for an original document of importance, and is any document of importance signed by the autopen in proxy even legal?

Trump says the orders are void

After it was revealed that Biden’s pardons and some of his executive orders were signed with the autopen, Trump posted, "The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen," Trump claimed in a Truth Social post.

"In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”

That seems pretty definitive, and that is an important quote to remember for the challenges put down by the White House. While on Air Force One, Trump softened his tone with a reporter, and when asked about the orders being invalid, Trump stated, "I think so. It's not my decision. That would be up to a court.”

CNN reporter ripped by press secretary

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins challenged White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Trump’s initial statement, and she asked a very fair question to the point if Trump had consulted with any legal advisers before saying the orders were void.

Leavitt shot back, “The president [Trump] was raising the point, did the president [Biden] even know about these pardons? Was his legal signature used without his consent or knowledge? The president was begging the question that I think a lot of journalists in this room should be asking.”

She continued, “I think it’s a question that everybody in this room should be looking into, because certainly that would propose perhaps criminal or illegal behavior if staff members were signing the president of the United States’ autograph without his consent.”

I like Leavitt, but this was very much a twisting of the events. Initially, Trump was not “begging a question,” but rather making a firm statement, so the question was fair. It also goes to my point in previous reports that Trump needs to stop firing from the hip about certain things before consulting with White House counsel. And to be clear… I think the orders should be challenged, and I thought that before the autopen controversy came up. But I just want Trump to get his ducks in a row before spouting off about serious subjects like this.