Former President Joe Biden tried to respond to the autopen controversy but only fueled the charge that he was not the one in control during his term.
On Wednesday, The Hill reported Biden issued an official statement — a written statement — in response to the autopen scandal that President Donald Trump‘s administration is now honing in on.
In March, Trump wrote via Truth Social that several executive actions requiring Biden’s signature were invalid due to the former president using an autopen to provide his signature: “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. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!”
The use of the autopen in itself dates back to a significantly more primitive model being used by former President Thomas Jefferson.
Trump’s remark, however, was not just about its use alone; as he wrote, it was done without Biden’s knowledge, implying White House staffers were putting his signature on documents the then-president knew nothing about.
Per the Hill, Trump ordered the counsel to the president and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the autopen’s use.
Further, House Oversight Committee Chairman and Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer is also investigating the matter, stating the individuals he pursued for questioning about the autopen’s use have obtained legal counsel.
Biden’s statement was posted to social media platform X on Wednesday.
“I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” it read.
“This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations,” the statement said in reference to a recent spending bill in Congress.
Joe Biden on Trump’s call for investigation into his actions & autopen use
“I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
Full statement pic.twitter.com/jZm2YaI6JP
— Arlette Saenz (@ArletteSaenz) June 5, 2025
How could Biden — more importantly his team — not catch this?
A written statement does nothing to counter Trump or Republicans‘ accusations that he was not in charge.
This could have been written by anybody.
Granted, Biden performs poorly on camera — as evidenced by any number of videos circulating online, but pulling him out of the basement to film a 30-second video would have been much better for optics.
But, that would have been better than a written statement.
Per the Hill, Trump’s order targets the appointment of federal judges, grants of clemency, and thousands of executive documents that required Biden’s signature.
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