President Trump has launched a significant legal challenge to his predecessor’s actions, declaring pardons related to the Jan. 6 investigation “invalid” and questioning the legitimacy of documents signed by autopen. Here’s what you need to know about this unprecedented constitutional controversy:

The pardon challenge

Trump has taken aim at specific presidential clemency actions:

The autopen issue

Questions about mechanical signatures raise broader concerns:

The legal landscape

The controversy enters uncharted constitutional territory:

The affected individuals

Specific pardons and documents face uncertainty:

The political dimensions

The controversy reflects broader power dynamics:

Expert opinions

Legal scholars offer varied perspectives:

What happens next

Several key developments are anticipated:

The unprecedented questioning of a former president’s pardons and signing methods represents a significant test of constitutional powers and limitations that could reshape understanding of presidential authority.

Read more:

• Donald Trump says Joe Biden’s Jan. 6 committee pardons invalid

• Trump wonders about validity of Biden documents signed by autopen

• Joe Biden’s use of autopen on official documents raises questions from critics

This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com

The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.