The use of an autopen signature on many official White House documents and executive orders purportedly signed by former President Joe Biden has stoked concerns about his awareness of signing certain things and whether he actually signed them at all, according to an investigation by the Oversight Project, an arm of the Heritage Foundation.
According to the group, "every document we could find" that bore Biden's signature all "used the same autopen signature" except for his announcement about leaving the 2024 presidential race last July.
"Whoever controlled the autopen controlled the presidency," the Oversight Project said in a post to X on Thursday.
The concerns are such that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is demanding a Department of Justice investigation as to whether "Biden's cognitive decline allowed unelected staff to push through radical policy without his knowing approval."
In a letter to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz dated March 4, Bailey wrote that "it appears staffers and officers in the Biden administration may have exploited Biden's incapacity so they could issue orders without an accountable President of sound mind approving them."
In one instance, the Oversight Project highlights Biden's pardon of six criminals on Dec. 30, 2022, "while Joe Biden was vacationing and golfing in the U.S. Virgin Islands." The pardons all say "signed in the city of Washington," according to the Oversight Project.
Another instance is an interview given by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., where he recounted Biden not remembering an executive order he purportedly signed pausing liquefied natural gas imports in January 2024.
The Daily Mail also reported it examined more than 25 Biden EOs signed between 2021 and 2025 and found the same signature on each.
"For investigators to determine whether then-President Biden actually ordered the signature of relevant legal documents, or if he even had the mental capacity to, they must first determine who controlled the autopen and what checks were in place," the Oversight Project said in another post.
Wrote Bailey, "if in fact Biden's staffers were exploiting his mental decline, those are orders are null and void."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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