The Autopen Abyss: How a 100-Page Report Could Unravel Biden's Legacy and Shake the Foundations of American Governance, By Charles Taylor (Florida)

In the annals of American political scandals, few have the audacity to retroactively erase a president's signature, literally. Yesterday, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee dropped a bombshell: a 100-page report titled The Biden Autopen Presidency: Decline, Delusion, and Deception in the White House. It's not just a dossier of gripes; it's a declaration of war on the legitimacy of Joe Biden's entire tenure. Led by Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the committee doesn't mince words: dozens of executive actions, including high-profile pardons for family members, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, and even January 6 Committee staffers, are "null and void." And now, with a direct plea to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Department of Justice looms on the horizon, poised to turn partisan thunder into legal lightning.

This isn't hyperbole. The report paints a picture of a White House adrift, where unelected aides wielded the autopen, a mechanical signature device presidents have used since Thomas Jefferson's era for routine mail, like a skeleton key to the Oval Office. But in Biden's case, the committee alleges, it became a tool for deception amid a leader's documented cognitive slide. As Comer thundered on X: "Executive actions taken by White House Biden staff & signed by autopen are NULL AND VOID." The implications? A potential cascade of invalidated policies, reopened criminal cases, and a constitutional crisis that could redefine how we vet presidential fitness. I unpack why this "new turn" isn't just GOP theatre, it's a seismic shift with echoes that will reverberate far beyond 2025.

The Autopen: From Gimmick to Ghost in the Machine

To grasp the scandal's gravity, start with the autopen itself. Invented in the 1800s, it's a robotic arm that replicates a signature with eerie precision, saving presidents from carpal tunnel during thank-you note marathons. Barack Obama made headlines in 2011 by using it for a Patriot Act extension while abroad, sparking brief outcry over "robo-signing." But autopens have limits: they're ok for low-stakes stuff, but pardons? Executive orders? Those demand the human touch, or at least ironclad proof of intent.

Enter Biden's White House, where the report claims the line blurred into oblivion. Drawing from depositions, emails, and internal memos, investigators uncovered a "lax chain-of-custody" for decision binders. Aides like Chief of Staff Jeff Zients allegedly greenlit autopen use via casual emails ("I approve the use of the autopen") without Biden's direct say-so. In one jaw-dropping example, the January 19, 2025, pardons for five Biden family members, including Hunter, stemmed from a verbal huddle relayed second-hand, with no memo confirming Joe's nod. Zients, who skipped the meeting, just typed his okay. And for the record 4,245 clemency acts (96% crammed into Biden's lame-duck finale)? Thirty-two of 51 warrants bore autopen ink, including commutations for violent offenders that DOJ ethics watchdogs flagged as sketchy.

The report's smoking gun: No one, not Zients, not staff secretary Neera Tanden, could swear under oath who actually operated the machine or if Biden even understood the docs. Aides like Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, Biden's gatekeepers, invoked the Fifth Amendment when grilled on executing "presidential duties" or lying about his health. Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, dodged cognitive exam questions the same way, despite Biden's public stumbles: forgetting his son's death date in a Special Counsel interview, slurring through Taiwan policy flip-flops, and tumbling off Air Force One stairs like a blooper reel on loop.

This wasn't incompetence; it was, per the committee, a "cover-up" fuelled by self-interest. Pollster Mike Donilon pocketed $8 million keeping Biden in the 2024 race; O'Connor's got family ties to the clan. A June 2024 CBS/YouGov survey had 72% of voters, including nearly half of Democrats, doubting Biden's mental chops. Yet the inner circle peddled talking points: "He's sharp as a tack!" Now, with Biden out of office, the veil's torn.

The Report's Bombshell: Null, Void, and DOJ on Deck

Clocking in at 100 pages of transcribed interviews (47 hours total, with Dems asking a measly 15 minutes per session), the document isn't light reading, it's a legal landmine. Key findings hammer home a "declining president" propped by delusion: no Medicare-mandated cognitive screening, despite Parkinson's-linked physical notes in O'Connor's reports; gatekept schedules to hide "tiredness"; even makeup and wardrobe tweaks to mask frailty. The committee dubs it "the biggest political scandal of the century," out-Watergating Nixon by undermining the executive branch's core.

The "new turn"? That letter to Bondi, Trump's AG pick, urging a full DOJ probe into all Biden-era actions, from vaccine mandates to foreign policy nods. Referrals target O'Connor for medical board review, Tomasini and Bernal for perjury probes. And the kicker: a blanket nullification of autopen-signed edicts lacking "contemporaneous, written approval traceable to the president's own consent." Translation: Hunter's pardon? Poof. Fauci's get-out-of-jail-free card? Gone. Those 2,500 commutations for "non-violent" offenders (spoiler: many weren't)? Back to square one, victims' families cheering from the sidelines.

Democrats cry foul — "sham investigation!" — but the evidence, from Hur's "elderly man with poor memory" memo to Zients' email trails, sticks. Even NPR's legal eagles are buzzing: Could courts void these if DOJ moves?

Why This Matters: Legal Quicksand, Political Payback, and a 25th Amendment Wake-Up

The significance here transcends gotchas; it's a stress test for democracy's guardrails.

Legally, it's chaos incarnate. Pardons are "final" per the Constitution, but courts have nixed them for fraud or undue influence (think Nixon's Spiro Agnew dodge). If autopens masked incapacity, we're talking Article II violations: The president must execute laws, not his handlers. Reopened cases could flood dockets, January 6 probes revived, Fauci facing subpoenas anew. Broader? Executive orders on climate, immigration? If autopen-tainted, agencies scramble, policies evaporate. Bondi's DOJ, already Trump-loyal, might fast-track this, turning "null and void" into courtroom reality.

Politically, it's red meat for the MAGA machine. Post-2024, with Trump back, this report fuels the "Biden was a puppet" narrative, validating election-year whispers and eroding Dem trust. Comer's X thread, racking 19K likes, amplifies it: "The Oval Office was occupied, but Joe Biden wasn't running the show." It's payback for impeachments past, a blueprint for auditing foes.

Constitutionally, it's a siren for the 25th. No cognitive exam? Verbal pardons? This exposes how easily decline festers unchecked. The amendment's invocation threshold, VP and Cabinet majority, feels toothless when aides circle wagons. Future admins might mandate annual neuro-scans or autopen logs, but at what cost to privacy? It's a reminder: We elect humans, flaws and all, but deception erodes the mandate.

Historically, this rivals Teapot Dome or Iran-Contra, not for graft, but for subverting sovereignty. A president reduced to prop? That's not just sad; it's anti-republican.

Closing the Loop: From Scandal to Safeguard

As the DOJ deliberates, one thing's clear: The Autopen Presidency isn't Biden's alone — it's ours. It spotlights an aging leadership class, unchecked power in the shadows, and voters' right to truth. If Bondi bites, we face reckonings; if not, it's precedent for plausible deniability. Either way, demand better: Transparent fitness protocols, audited actions, no more machines mimicking majesty.

Comer nailed it: "Top aides misled Americans and worked to maintain the illusion of presidential control." Illusion no more. In this post-truth era, ripping off the mask, autopen or otherwise, is the real executive action we need.

https://thespectator.com/topic/autopen-report-biden-puppet-president-house-oversight/

https://www.beckerbrief.com/p/biden-autopen-scandal-erupts-house

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/10/breaking-house-oversight-committee-deems-all-biden-autopen/