President Joe Biden may have been signing official documents with an autopen without knowing what they contained.
The explosive allegation has Republicans demanding answers.
And Byron Donalds dropped a truth bomb about Biden’s autopen that has Democrats scrambling.
Autopen controversy takes center stage
Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) rocked Washington, D.C., when he claimed that the Biden administration’s use of an autopen device to sign official documents could invalidate major presidential decisions.
On Thursday’s Varney & Co. program, Donalds didn’t mince words about the severity of the allegations.
“If Joe Biden could not execute the duties of his office, then why are we living under a lot of the decisions… made by the Biden White House? So there’s a lot of investigations that need to occur on this matter. This is a major scandal, in my view, the biggest one in presidential history. We can now put Watergate to bed because the autopen is now in front of us,” Donalds declared.
The Florida Republican argued that depending on when Biden lost his mental faculties, many of his presidential actions should be considered null and void.
“Depending on when the President truly was not in control of his mental faculties, a lot of the stuff that he did as President, in my view, should be invalidated,” Donalds explained. “And the reason why is because you can’t use an autopen to run the country. It has to be from the mental capabilities and the physical capabilities of the person elected to be Commander in Chief.”
Donald Trump weighs in on the controversy
President Donald Trump has jumped into the autopen fray, suggesting that Biden might not have been aware of key policy decisions being made in his name.
During a visit to Capitol Hill for a closed-door meeting with House Republicans, Trump told reporters that “we’re gonna start looking into this whole thing with who signed this legislation. Who signed legislation opening our border? I don’t think he knew.”
Trump’s comments reflect growing suspicions among Republicans that staffers may have been using the autopen to enact policies without Biden’s full understanding or consent.
“Who was operating the autopen?” Trump questioned. “You know who signed it? Radical left lunatics who were running our country. And the autopen signed it.”
Democrats dismiss the allegations
Democrats and former Biden staffers have pushed back against these claims.Â
A former Biden White House staffer dismissed Trump’s suggestion that an autopen was used without Biden’s knowledge.
They also point to public signing ceremonies Biden held for major policies, including an executive order that temporarily barred migrants from crossing the Southern border unlawfully.
Critics also note that Trump himself acknowledged using an autopen device during his presidency, telling reporters in March, “We may use it, as an example, to send some young person a letter, because it’s nice.”
What is an autopen?
An autopen is a mechanical device that automatically reproduces a person’s signature.Â
It’s been used by presidents, celebrities, and public figures for decades, primarily for signing routine correspondence or documents when the person is unavailable to sign personally.
The controversy isn’t about the existence of the device but rather who was controlling it and whether Biden was fully aware of what was being signed in his name.
Elder abuse allegations
Donalds didn’t stop at questioning the legitimacy of Biden’s signatures.Â
He went further, suggesting that Biden may have been a victim of “elder abuse” by those around him.
The congressman wants senior officials from the former administration to appear before the House Oversight Committee to answer questions about Biden’s mental state and who was making decisions during his presidency.
These allegations gained additional attention following Biden’s widely criticized debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, and his subsequent withdrawal from the presidential race on July 21, which raised serious questions about his cognitive abilities.
Constitutional questions
The autopen controversy raises significant constitutional questions about presidential authority and the transfer of power.
If Biden was not mentally capable of executing his duties as president, the 25th Amendment provides a process for the vice president to assume those duties.Â
However, if Biden’s team concealed his condition and used the autopen to create the appearance of normal function, it could represent an unprecedented constitutional crisis.
For now, the House Oversight Committee seems poised to investigate these claims further, potentially leading to hearings that could shine a light on decision-making in the Biden White House.
The American people deserve to know who was really in charge during the Biden administration, and whether the signatures on official documents truly represented the president’s informed decisions.
