Mike Johnson questions Biden executive actions signed by autopen
House Speaker Mike Johnson questioned the legitimacy of executive actions signed by President Joe Biden using an autopen, suggesting manny orders may not have had Biden’s direct authorization. This follows a report from the House Oversight Committee,led by Chairman james Comer,which revealed that Biden’s staff sometimes signed executive actions on his behalf without written consent,rendering those actions potentially “null adn void.” The investigation included extensive interviews with former Biden officials, some of whom invoked the Fifth Amendment, prompting calls for a Department of Justice probe and a full audit of executive orders and pardons signed via autopen. Johnson emphasized serious implications, including for presidential pardons, and expressed a desire to legally challenge the practice. Simultaneously occurring, Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, dismissed the report as partisan and defended Biden’s actions, with Biden himself denying the accusations and affirming he made all decisions personally.The controversy centers on whether the use of the autopen was proper and authorized.
Mike Johnson calls into question Biden executive actions signed by autopen in wake of report
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Tuesday called into question every executive action made by the Biden administration that did not have written authorization from President Joe Biden, alleging that the orders “simply were not all his own actions.”
Johnson’s comments come just hours after the Oversight Committee released its findings of the Biden administration’s use of the autopen, in which Chairman James Comer (R-KY) declared executive actions performed by Biden’s staff and signed with an autopen “null and void.”
READ IN FULL: HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE RELEASES BIDEN COGNITIVE DECLINE AND AUTOPEN REPORT
“Oversight Chairman James Comer released a blockbuster report now on the Biden autopen presidency, and this report includes 47 hours worth of transcripts and testimony revealing that every executive action signed by the autopen without written authorization from President Biden should be voided,” Johnson said at a press conference.
The Oversight Committee’s report compiled the findings of 14 interviews of former Biden officials and aides, including three who pleaded the Fifth during their testimony to investigators. The lengthy report included a letter to the Department of Justice asking it to investigate the three Biden officials who pleaded the Fifth, saying they were “deeply involved in cover-up,” and requesting a full audit of all executive actions.
BIDEN STAFFERS EXERCISED PRESIDENTIAL POWERS WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION, HOUSE GOP OVERSIGHT REPORT FINDS
“The actions of President Biden simply were not all his own actions, and there are major implications for that, including all the pardons that he signed,” Johnson said. “But don’t get me started.”
The speaker reiterated the committee’s call for these executive orders and pardons to be voided if they did not receive direct authorization from Biden. Johnson has continuously praised Comer’s investigations this Congress, specifically citing the autopen investigation.
Johnson, a former Constitutional attorney, said he “would love to take the case” to “set the precedent” that you can not let the president “check out.”
“He didn’t know what he was signing, so there’s all sorts of just incredible implications,” Johnson said. “It sounds like a terrible novel or something, but this is reality.”
Later Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) slammed the report, saying Comer acts like a “malignant clown.”
“The so called chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer continues to behave like a malignant clown,” Jeffries said. “You can’t point to a single thing that he’s done to make life better for the American people.”
House Oversight Democrats released their own report in an effort to dismiss the GOP report as a partisan game, claiming there is no evidence to show that Biden’s staff acted without authority.
“I made the decisions during my presidency — the pardons, the orders, the proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden has said in response to the accusations.
While it is legal for the president to utilize an autopen for official business, Republicans aimed to investigate whether Biden was fully aware of or explicitly authorized such activity.
Rachel Schilke contributed to this report.
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