A conservative watchdog group that began investigating President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen long before any congressional investigations started is furious over a lack of transparency and what they say are officials stonewalling information requests at the Justice Department.
The Oversight Project, which sued the DOJ in May over stalled Freedom of Information Act requests, says the Biden-era scandal is now being compounded by foot-dragging from the very administration that promised historic openness. The group is seeking internal legal guidance from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel concerning Biden’s controversial use of the autopen to execute pardons. But after more than four months, it says the government is still resisting compliance with the FOIA requests despite granting expedited processing.
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“We’re over 130 days in on a request that goes to the heart of what the president himself has called the biggest scandal in American history,” said Kyle Brosnan, chief counsel for the Oversight Project. “And the Justice Department is slow-walking the release of this information. It’s unacceptable given the gravity of what we’re asking for.”
In response to growing scrutiny over his predecessor’s use of the autopen, President Donald Trump ordered the White House counsel and the DOJ in June to investigate whether Biden’s staff unconstitutionally exercised executive authority during Biden’s final year in office. But Brosnan said Trump’s own DOJ, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, is stonewalling the release of necessary records for the watchdog’s research project.
“From the top down, this administration talks a big game on transparency, but nobody’s walking the walk,” Brosnan said. “President Trump deserves credit for being visible and accessible to the press, but the DOJ is not following his lead — especially not in this case.”
The Oversight Project’s request focuses on whether DOJ lawyers under the Biden administration previously warned Biden that presidential powers, such as the pardon clause, cannot be delegated and require personal execution. In a recent interview, Biden admitted his staff had used the autopen for blanket clemency decisions based on the president’s pre-approved categories, but that he did not give the green light for each individual on the clemency list.
“If you have an OLC opinion saying, ‘Hey, Mr. President, you need to sign these things,’ and he didn’t, that throws additional fuel onto the fire,” Brosnan said. “We’re asking for documents that may show the president ignored binding legal advice.”
Despite Brosnan’s concerns, a federal judge this week approved the DOJ’s request to postpone its next FOIA update until September. Brosnan said the delay contradicts Trump’s push for aggressive transparency in government.
While the reason for the delay is not entirely clear, the Justice Department, now led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, has pointed to an overwhelming spike in FOIA activity. The agency’s recent reports have suggested that standards are changing to address historic backlogs from previous years.
According to its 2025 Chief FOIA Officer Report, the department processed a record-breaking 157,180 requests in fiscal 2024, up from just 82,868 two years earlier, while reducing its backlog by more than 50%.
Still, critics say the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Brosnan argues that the autopen-related FOIA request is relatively narrow and manageable, yet is being treated like a political inconvenience.
Sam Dewey, an attorney involved in a separate FOIA case over records tied to Hunter Biden’s prosecution, echoed the sentiment. “We got some stuff recently,” Dewey told the Washington Examiner. “But it should have been released over a year ago,” he said, adding the process has been “very frustrating.”
Mike Howell, the Oversight Project’s president, submitted testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year summarizing the broader transparency breakdown.
“Growing backlogs, agency failures to make timely determinations, arbitrary denials of requests, and excessive invocation of FOIA exemptions has made the government less transparent. … The average American, by and large, has been cut out,” Howell said.
The group expanded its criticism on X last week, writing, “133 days is enough” time for the DOJ to deliver responsive records.
“For reasons we cannot explain, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche are covering up records related to the Autopen Scandal. … The American people need to know who the president was,” the group wrote in its statement.
UNFORTUNATE LITIGATION UPDATE
— Oversight Project (@ItsYourGov) July 24, 2025
133 days is enough.
For reasons we cannot explain, @AGPamBondi and @DAGToddBlanche
are covering up records related to the Autopen Scandal. While we have been working with the White House and Congress on this matter, we now learn that the… pic.twitter.com/rxprZBGr5i
Scrutiny of Biden’s use of the autopen gained traction in April after research by the watchdog group, formerly part of the Heritage Foundation, uncovered evidence that Biden relied on the mechanized signature printer for several executive orders and last-minute clemency actions. This prompted speculation about whether Biden ultimately made the final call on those decisions.
After Republican lawmakers began investigating Biden’s autopen in early May, a July 13 report from the New York Times revealed that Biden staffers, including Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, used the device to carry out sweeping clemency grants under Biden’s name.
The Oversight Project believes that such action violates the Constitution’s requirement that the president personally exercise certain “non-delegable” powers, prompting its search for additional records about what legal advice the president received about his autopen usage.
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Meanwhile, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has continued interviews of several former Biden officials, including Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Anthony Bernal, and Annie Tomasini, the three aides who have so far invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to committee questioning.
Last week, the committee interviewed Biden’s former chief of staff, Ron Klain, who answered many of the committee’s questions. Interviews are expected to continue this week on Wednesday with Steve Ricchetti, Biden’s former counselor, and on Thursday with Mike Donilon, Biden’s former senior adviser.