What is an Autopen? Controversy surrounding Trump calling Biden's pardons 'void' explained

U.S. President Donald Trump has recently ruled out all pardons signed by Joe Biden and made them void, after alleging that his predecessor carried out the orders with an autopen.

An autopen is a tool for automatically signing documents. Many public personalities use autopens so that their signatures can be printed whenever they want, without their direct participation.

Discussing the issue, Trump posted on Truth Social on March 17:

“The ‘Pardons’... 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.”

He further claimed that Biden was either unaware of or did not approve of the materials, raising the possibility of criminal activity on the part of individuals involved. He further continued:

“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!”

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Trump accused Biden of using autopen to sign the paroles

Politicians, businessmen, and celebrities frequently use autopens, which are devices that mechanically mimic handwritten signatures to sign a lot of documents.

The person's signature is captured and saved digitally. The signature on documents is then replicated by a mechanical pen or robotic arm. Although it is machine-generated, the finished product nearly resembles a handwritten signature.

Bills, executive orders, and official communications are signed by U.S. presidents and officials using an autopen. CEOs and other executives also use it to sign contracts and get approvals on a large scale. The device is further used by celebrities to sign signatures on books, posters, and other items.

As the U.S. Constitution requires the President to sign a large number of official documents, including military, diplomatic, and judicial commissions, as well as some Acts of Congress, executive directives, letters, and other correspondence. The President uses multiple autopen systems to sign these documents.

According to a January 3, 2013, ABC News report, Barack Obama approved the use of an autopen to generate his signature while he was in France, enacting an extension of three Patriot Act restrictions. He also used the autopen while on vacation in Hawaii to sign the extension of the Bush tax cuts on the same day.

Biden even reportedly signed pardons with an autopen. Now, alleging the same, Trump wrote on his Truth Social post on March 17:

"The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”

He added:

“Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee., who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.”

Trump also said that the paperwork were signed without the knowledge or approval of Biden. He then concluded:

“The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden.”

Trump's statements come after a study released by the Oversight Project, which is a branch of the conservative research tank that created Project 2025. During his administration, the group said that Biden signed "almost every document we could find" with an autopen. The Oversight Project posted on X on the same day:

“We gathered every document we could find with Biden’s signature over the course of his presidency. All used the same autopen signature except for the announcement that the former President was dropping out of the race last year.”

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Nevertheless, Joe Biden has not said anything about the allegations as of yet.