{"id":2527824,"date":"2026-01-01T07:33:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T12:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-biden-administrations-failed-attempts-to-spin-autopen-use\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T07:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T12:35:16","slug":"the-biden-administrations-failed-attempts-to-spin-autopen-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-biden-administrations-failed-attempts-to-spin-autopen-use\/","title":{"rendered":"The Biden administration&#8217;s failed attempts to spin autopen use"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-biden-administrations-failed-attempts-to-spin-autopen-use%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2527824&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The piece reports on controversy over President Biden&#8217;s acknowledged use of an autopen to sign documents, especially a large batch of clemencies and pardons.biden told the New York Times he authorized the machine because of the volume of clemencies he issued; his administration set a record with more than 4,200 pardons\/commutations, including commuting the death sentences of 37 federal inmates.An autopen duplicates the commander-in-chief&#8217;s signature, and its use drew intense scrutiny from Republicans and some commentators.<\/p>\n<p>Biden allies defended his actions, saying he <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >reviewed clemency policy decisions<\/a> (often by class) even if he did not personally sign every document. White House press secretary Karine jean-Pierre defended his competency in testimony, while others acknowledged his aging.GOP critics called the practice a historic scandal,subpoenaed officials such as former chief of staff Jeff Zients,and highlighted testimony that Biden&#8217;s decision-making &#8220;slowed&#8221; late in his term.The House Oversight Committee released a report as part of its probe.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy had political consequences: former President Trump said he would void autopen-signed orders (claiming roughly 92% of Biden&#8217;s orders used it), and Republicans used the episode to question who was in charge during Biden&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sheldon-adelson-casino-mogul-and-gop-power-broker-dies-at-87\/\" title=\"Sheldon Adelson, Casino Mogul and GOP Power Broker, Dies at 87\">final year<\/a>. Biden dismissed the investigation as &#8220;crazy&#8221; and attacked critics as &#8220;liars.&#8221; The article notes these developments amid Biden&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-flips-iowa-state-house-seat-held-by-democrats-for-decades\/\" title=\"Republican Flips Iowa State ... Seat Held By Democrats For Decades\">low approval ratings<\/a> near the end of his term.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The Biden administration&rsquo;s failed attempts to spin autopen use<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2446825\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3468994\/house-oversight-investigation-biden-autopen-use-witnesses\/\">Joe Biden<\/a> and his allies defended his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3469963\/biden-insists-he-made-every-clemency-decision\/\">use of an autopen<\/a> during his presidency, but the practice largely drew scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/13\/us\/politics\/biden-clemency-interview.html\">Biden confirmed<\/a> to the <em>New York Times<\/em> in July that he authorized the autopen. He said he used the machine, which allows someone to duplicate the signature of the commander in chief on a document, due to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3292753\/nicole-malliotakis-biden-last-minute-pardons-telling\/\">large number of clemencies<\/a> he granted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4379280\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-zohran-mamdani-inauguration-democratic-party\/\">AOC to speak at Mamdani inauguration as GOP paints him as new Democratic Party leader<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4050359\/fluctuating-left-wing-premier-dark-money-network\/\">The fall and rise of the Left&#8217;s premier dark money network<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4379119\/off-year-elections-test-democrats-2026\/\">Off-year Democratic gains send mixed signals ahead of 2026&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The former president set a record for the most presidential pardons, commutations, and clemencies, which he granted to more than 4,200 people. These sweeping pardons included commuting the death sentences of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3269402\/legal-world-reacts-biden-death-row-commutations\/\">37 federal inmates<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-biden-allies\">Biden allies<\/h2>\n<p>Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) appeared on CNN&rsquo;s <em>News Central <\/em>shortly after Biden&rsquo;s comments were published to confirm that he had read the article. However, he said he interpreted it differently from his Republican colleagues in the House.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;My understanding is that President Biden did look at these pardons, whether or not they came in classes of pardons &mdash; like these are people being pardoned because they had mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug offenses, and he didn&rsquo;t think that that was appropriate, that they&rsquo;d served their time well &mdash; as opposed to each individual one,&rdquo; Van Hollen said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I will have to take a look at that entire issue,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 640px; max-height: 360px; min-width: 320px; min-height: 180px; overflow: hidden;\">\n<div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/share.grabien.com\/share?id=3028800&amp;userid=11311&amp;loginid=10455&amp;playercolor=%23000000&amp;playersize=auto&amp;code=4650b86882e127db6b3f72453bfb8185\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0px;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also faced pushback, even from ardent Biden supporters. While interviewing Jean-Pierre back in October, late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert described Biden during the time of his 2024 presidential debate as a &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3858874\/stephen-colbert-challenges-karine-jean-pierre-on-bidens-mental-acuity\/\">dramatically different person<\/a>&rdquo; from how he was earlier in his campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Jean-Pierre admitted Biden had &ldquo;aged,&rdquo; which affected his debate performance with President Donald Trump. However, she stopped short of saying Biden&rsquo;s age <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3804766\/karine-jean-pierre-house-oversight-committee-autopen-investigation\/\">changed his ability<\/a> to agree to using an autopen.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-biden-critics\">Biden critics<\/h2>\n<p>In a statement released to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said, &ldquo;New reporting confirms Biden White House staff took executive action without the President&rsquo;s approval. The House Oversight Committee will continue pursuing answers about this historic scandal to prevent such an abuse from happening again.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;@GOPoversight will continue pursuing answers about this historic scandal to prevent such an abuse from happening again,&rdquo; Comer <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepJamesComer\/status\/1944713080321011945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1944713080321011945%7Ctwgr%5Edb3b1ce5e895c5aa89046a1d9aee7d3f2e062d27%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2F3470049%2Fbiden-autopen-defense-backfires-sparks-outrage%2F\">wrote <\/a>on X in July.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepEliCrane\/status\/1944730931631190459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1944730931631190459%7Ctwgr%5Edb3b1ce5e895c5aa89046a1d9aee7d3f2e062d27%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2F3470049%2Fbiden-autopen-defense-backfires-sparks-outrage%2F\">responded <\/a>to Comer&rsquo;s post, asking, &ldquo;Who was really in charge for the past four years?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey commented on the news, as two of the federal inmates who avoided the death penalty were originally sentenced in his state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In March, I questioned the legal honesty of Biden&rsquo;s clemency given his cognitive decline,&rdquo; he wrote in a since-deleted post on X. &ldquo;Now, by his own admission, his pardons have no legal validity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In August, Bailey deleted his original X account, which included his title of attorney general in the username, as he resigned and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3808640\/patel-to-face-scrutiny-on-capitol-hill\/\">joined the FBI<\/a>. Then, he opted to start posting under a username that simply included his name and state.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-latest-nbsp\">The latest&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p>The subsequent House Oversight Committee subpoenaed former <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3814797\/biden-chief-of-staff-gave-most-damning-testimony-autopen-probe\/\">White House chief of staff Jeff Zients<\/a> in its investigation of Biden&rsquo;s autopen use. During a closed-door interview, Zients said Biden&rsquo;s &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-chief-of-staff-gave-most-damning-testimony-yet-in-autopen-probe\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s chief of staff gave most damning ... yet in ... probe\">decision-making slowed&#038;rdquo<\/a>; during the final phase of his presidency. Zients was one of over a dozen Biden administration officials to be swept up in the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Jean-Pierre <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3804766\/karine-jean-pierre-house-oversight-committee-autopen-investigation\/\">defended <\/a>Biden&rsquo;s &ldquo;competency&rdquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3804766\/karine-jean-pierre-house-oversight-committee-autopen-investigation\/\"> <\/a>during her five-hour testimony to the committee.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Biden <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3469963\/biden-insists-he-made-every-clemency-decision\/\">referred <\/a>to the House Oversight Committee investigation as &ldquo;crazy,&rdquo; and said all Republican lawmakers who questioned his cognitive decline were &ldquo;liars.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In October, while the government was still shut down, the Oversight Committee released its report on its investigation into Biden&rsquo;s use of autopen.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3822690\/trump-white-house-swaps-biden-for-autopen-in-new-presidential-walk-of-fame\/\"><strong>TRUMP WHITE HOUSE SWAPS BIDEN FOR AUTOPEN IN NEW PRESIDENTIAL WALK OF FAME<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trump announced that he would terminate<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3901594\/trump-says-any-document-signed-sleepy-joe-biden-autopen-terminated\/\"> all of Biden&rsquo;s orders<\/a> signed by autopen. According to Trump&rsquo;s announcement, this applied to nearly 92% of the former president&rsquo;s orders over four years.<\/p>\n<p>Biden finished his time in office with an all<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/liberals-sour-on-sen-feinstein-leading-to-all-time-low-approval-rating\/\" title=\"Liberals Sour On Sen. Feinstein, Leading To All-... Low ... Rating\">-time low approval rating<\/a> of 35.6%, according to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/cssh.northeastern.edu\/joe-bidens-approval-rating-hits-record-low\/\"><em>FiveThirtyEight<\/em>&lsquo;s analysis of polls<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden autopen use draws bipartisan scrutiny<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2631,"featured_media":2527825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Feat.Media2_.060425.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[51873,32502,69854],"class_list":["post-2527824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-autopen","tag-biden-administration","tag-political-communications"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Feat.Media2_.060425.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2527824"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2527828,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2527824\/revisions\/2527828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2527825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2527824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2527824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2527824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}