Biden’s “Autopen Presidency” Could Void Thousands of Orders Including Fauci Pardon

A new report from the House Oversight Committee claims that several executive actions taken during President Joe Biden’s tenure “cannot all be deemed his own,” citing evidence that confirms senior aides managed key decisions as Biden’s physical and cognitive health allegedly declined.

The 91-page document, released Tuesday by committee chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., alleges that Biden’s advisers "meticulously stage-managed" the president’s appearances and limited his workload.

The report cites more than a dozen interviews with former aides who described measures to reduce the president’s physical exertion, shorten meetings, and control interactions with lawmakers.

"These steps ranged from addressing President Biden’s makeup, clothing, schedule, the number of steps President Biden could walk or climb," the report states, "keeping cabinet meetings to a minimum … and using teleprompters even at small, intimate events."

Republicans argue that Biden’s use of an autopen, a mechanical device that replicates a person’s signature, to sign some pardons and executive orders raises constitutional questions. Comer said the committee "deems void President Biden’s executive actions that were signed using the autopen," and urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to review their legality.

Biden acknowledged in a July interview with The New York Times that an autopen was used to sign 25 pardon and commutation warrants between December 2024 and January 2025, though he personally signed his son Hunter Biden’s clemency order.

Former chief of staff Jeff Zients told investigators he did not know who physically operated the autopen but insisted that "verbal authorizations of the president’s decision … would occur on occasion."

Three senior aides, White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and Jill Biden’s chief of staff Anthony Bernal, invoked their Fifth Amendment rights when questioned by the committee.

O’Connor refused to answer whether he was ever told to lie about the president’s health or whether he believed Biden was unfit for office.

The report accuses O’Connor of "grossly misleading medical assessments," though his attorneys said physician-patient privilege prevented him from discussing Biden’s treatment.

In a June statement, Biden rejected claims that his aides acted without his consent.

"Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” he said. "Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false."

Democrats contend the GOP inquiry is a partisan attack.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the committee’s ranking member, described it as a "sham investigation: and said, "While House Republicans obsess about President Biden’s health, they are ripping away healthcare from 17 million Americans and spiking premiums."

Legal experts note that the Department of Justice has previously affirmed a president’s authority to use an autopen for official acts. No court has ruled such use invalid.

Comer called the findings "one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history," while Biden allies dismissed the report as "mischaracterizations" lacking full transcripts of witness interviews.

Questions about Biden’s mental fitness intensified after his halting 2024 debate performance against Donald Trump. Advisers discussed but ultimately declined to have him undergo a public cognitive test, the report says.

As the political storm over Biden’s legacy grows, one truth remains: Washington’s power brokers guard their narratives as fiercely as their secrets.

The same establishment that insists the president never faltered now asks America to ignore the cracks in the façade, as if the autopen could sign away accountability itself.