Former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano said on Newsmax's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE" that questions about whether former President Joe Biden properly authorized last-minute pardons come down to a simple question. Did Biden personally authorize the pardons?
Napolitano says questions about the use of an autopen, or signature creation device to sign the orders, don't mean a thing. "The question is, did this come from Joe Biden? Did he know this was happening? He could say to you if you were his assistant, 'Carl, sign this for me.' Perfectly legal, but it has to come from him. It cannot have been generated by somebody else."
The questions about the pardons hit a new level when President Donald Trump posted that he felt the pardons were not legal.
Napolitano says the autopen question doesn't apply. "The pardon doesn't have to be in writing. The president, if he wanted to, I can't imagine this happening, could literally walk through the hallway of a federal prison saying, you're out, you're out, you're out. He doesn't have to reduce it to writing. And a president cannot unpardon somebody that's been pardoned."
Napolitano says the legality is clear, as long as the former president was aware and personally ordered the pardons, they stand. But he added, "We don't know what happened."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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