Trump says Biden autopen documents, including pardons, are now terminated

New Delhi,UPDATED: Dec 3, 2025 06:40 IST

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is terminating all documents he claims were signed by Joe Biden using an autopen, including pardons and commutations issued during Biden’s presidency.

Trump made the sweeping declaration in a post on Truth Social, arguing that any legal document bearing an autopen-applied Biden signature has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no legal effect.

Trump’s announcement marks his most dramatic attempt yet to retroactively challenge the legitimacy of Biden-era decisions. “Any and all Documents, Proclamations, Executive Orders, Memorandums, or Contracts signed by the unauthorized ‘AUTOPEN’ are hereby null (and) void,” he wrote, directing recipients of Biden-signed pardons and commutations to consider them cancelled.

The autopen, a long-used mechanical device that produces precise signature replicas, has been employed for decades by presidents of both parties, routinely for proclamations, letters and ceremonial acknowledgements.

Before leaving office in January, Biden issued several pardons, including for family members whom he said he wanted to protect from politically driven investigations. He also commuted sentences for several non-violent drug offenders. Trump’s claim that these actions are now invalid has no established legal mechanism behind it.

Trump and his allies have long used Biden’s occasional reliance on the autopen to cast doubt on his awareness and decision-making, suggesting that aides acted in his place. Biden aides and former officials have repeatedly dismissed those claims and insisted the president reviewed and approved all actions attributed to him.

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With inputs from Reuters

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