Trump Declares All Autopen-Signed Biden Documents ‘Terminated’
President Trump declared all autopen-signed Biden documents "terminated," claiming improper authorization, though legal experts note presidents can only revoke executive orders, not legislation or properly authorized pardons.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has “terminated” every document signed with an autopen during Joe Biden’s presidency—an assertion that immediately raised questions about its legal validity and added fuel to Trump’s ongoing campaign against his Democratic predecessor.
Trump has repeatedly accused Biden of relying heavily on an autopen—an automated signature device—to authorize executive orders, pardons, and other official documents. He asserts that this reliance proves Biden was mentally unfit for office and not in control of the White House.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote:
“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States.
The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him.
I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally. Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.
U.S. presidents have long used signature-automation systems, particularly when traveling. Trump, however, insists that the use of the device during Biden’s presidency demonstrates that Biden lacked the mental capacity to govern.
Biden was 82 when he left office. Trump is currently 79 and is expected to complete his term in January 2029.
Conservative legal expert Ed Whelan commented on social media that a president has full authority to revoke executive orders—regardless of whether they were personally signed or executed by autopen.
However, he noted that Trump does not possess similar authority over “anything else,” such as laws passed by Congress or pardons that were finalized through autopen instructions approved by the sitting president.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated in 2005 that a president does not need to physically sign legislation by hand, and may direct a designated official “to affix the President’s signature,” including by autopen.
In 2011, The New York Times reported that Barack Obama became the first president to sign a piece of legislation using the autopen while he was abroad. Paper copies of such documents are still sometimes delivered to the president for signature during overseas trips.
At the end of his presidency, Biden issued pardons for individuals targeted by Trump, including his son Hunter Biden, members of Congress who had pursued investigations into Trump, a military officer who criticized him, and Anthony Fauci, the physician who coordinated the U.S. administration’s COVID-19 response.
The autopen has been an accepted tool in U.S. administrations for decades, allowing presidents to authorize documents remotely or during travel. Trump’s attempt to nullify documents signed during Biden’s term reflects his broader political strategy of questioning Biden’s fitness for office.
While Trump asserts sweeping authority to invalidate actions taken during Biden’s presidency, legal experts suggest that any such cancellation would apply only to executive orders—not to legislation or pardons lawfully authorized through established presidential procedures. The political and legal ramifications of Trump’s declaration are expected to continue generating debate within Washington.
