New GOP bill would ban the use of autopen for presidential pardons
House Republican Rep. Buddy Carter from Georgia is taking a stand against what he calls the “irresponsible” use of the autopen to sign presidential pardons. Carter is set to introduce the Signature Integrity for Granting National Pardons (SIGN) Act, which would require the sitting president to personally sign any pardon or reprieve, prohibiting the use of a mechanical-signed signature like the autopen.
In a statement shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, Carter expressed his concerns about the use of the autopen by President Joe Biden, stating that Biden’s use of the autopen should automatically void his presidential pardons. Carter believes that the SIGN Pardons Act will restore the integrity of the justice system by ensuring that all pardons are physically signed by the Commander-in-Chief.
This move comes after former President Donald Trump declared Biden’s pardons “void” due to their alleged autopen signatures. Trump raised questions about who was truly making decisions during Biden’s term if he was outsourcing constitutional duties to staff and machines.
According to a report from the Heritage Foundation, the majority of official documents signed by Biden were allegedly signed using an autopen. Trump took to Truth Social to declare Biden’s pardons void, claiming that Biden was unaware of the pardons signed in the final days of his term, including pardons for members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Trump’s post on Truth Social stated that the pardons were “done by Autopen” and that Biden did not sign them nor was he aware of them. Trump raised concerns about potential criminal activity surrounding the pardons that were signed without Biden’s knowledge or approval.
In response to these claims, an energy watchdog group called Power the Future sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging an investigation into whether Biden also signed energy-related executive orders using the autopen and if these actions were done with the president’s knowledge.
The use of the autopen by the president for signing bills into law was deemed permissible by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in 2005. Additionally, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently ruled that the absence of a writing does not mean that a commutation did not occur.
Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment but did not receive an immediate response. It is clear that the issue of using autopen signatures for official documents, particularly presidential pardons, is a contentious one that will continue to be debated in the political sphere. The SIGN Act proposed by Rep. Carter aims to address these concerns and ensure the integrity of the pardon process in the future.
