“I Signed Off”: Biden Defends Final Pardons

Former President Joe Biden has firmly rejected allegations suggesting he was not fully aware or in control of the clemency decisions made during the final days of his presidency.

In an interview with The New York Times published on Sunday, Biden refuted claims that his aides acted without his knowledge, labeling those spreading the rumors as “liars.”

“I made every single one of those,” Biden emphasized, addressing assertions that he was mentally unfit or unaware when presidential pardons and commutations were issued.

He went on to say that those pushing this narrative “know it’s not true.”

During his final days in office, Biden granted three rounds of clemency that included significant decisions:

commuting the sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row to life imprisonment without parole and offering sentence reductions for hundreds of non-violent drug offenders.

These actions drew sharp partisan criticism and reignited debates about presidential powers and fitness.

Among the more controversial moves was the full pardon granted to his son, Hunter Biden, who had been convicted on federal gun and tax violations.

Biden also issued pre-emptive pardons for several close family members, former White House pandemic advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, and retired Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley.

Critics, particularly conservatives, have questioned the legitimacy of these actions.

They argue that many of the clemency documents and executive orders were not personally signed by Biden but were instead authorized using an autopen.

The autopen is a mechanical device that replicates a person’s signature.

These critics claim this suggests Biden either did not approve the actions or lacked awareness of them, thus rendering the decisions invalid.

Responding to these claims, Biden told the Times that the use of the autopen was a matter of practicality, not subterfuge.

“There were just so many documents,” he explained.

“The autopen is legal.

“Other presidents, including Trump, have used it.”

Indeed, legal precedent supports Biden’s position.

A 2005 opinion from the Department of Justice ruled that autopen signatures could legally be used for official purposes.

President Barack Obama was the first to utilize it for signing legislation in 2011.

Despite this legal clarity, the controversy continues to swirl, fueled in part by Republican-led investigations.

Recently, Kevin O’Connor, the former White House physician, declined to answer questions from a congressional committee examining Biden’s cognitive health while he was in office.

Committee chair James Comer criticized O’Connor for invoking constitutional protections, interpreting it as part of an effort to hide what he described as “President Biden’s cognitive decline.”

Adding to the fire, Donald Trump, Biden’s predecessor and successor, claimed that any autopen-issued clemency lacks force.

Trump specifically referred to pardons granted to congressional investigators of the January 6 Capitol riot, asserting, “Joe Biden did not sign them, and more importantly, he didn’t know anything about them!”

Yet, Trump himself has used the autopen during his presidency, though he claims it was reserved for what he called “unimportant” documents, such as thank-you letters or acknowledgments.

He contrasted this with Biden’s use of the tool for major legal and political decisions, which he called “disgraceful.”

Biden, however, maintains that he was completely in charge of all actions taken during his presidency.

In June, he publicly declared, “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations.

Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

In his latest comments to The New York Times, Biden doubled down, accusing his critics of using the autopen debate as a political distraction.

“They’ve lied so consistently about almost everything they’re doing,” he said.

“They want to shift the narrative and get people to focus on anything else.

“That’s exactly what this is.”

As the controversy continues, the legality of the autopen remains uncontested in the courts.

What is at stake now is not the validity of the signatures, but the political perception of who was truly in control during Biden’s final days in office.

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