{"id":2576288,"date":"2026-03-04T21:51:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-quietly-closes-autopen-investigation-targeting-biden-and-aides\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T21:53:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T02:53:43","slug":"doj-quietly-closes-autopen-investigation-targeting-biden-and-aides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-quietly-closes-autopen-investigation-targeting-biden-and-aides\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ quietly closes autopen investigation targeting Biden and aides"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><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%2Fdoj-quietly-closes-autopen-investigation-targeting-biden-and-aides%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=2576288&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>A department of Justice inquiry into President Joe Biden\u2019s use of an autopen to sign official documents was quietly closed, according to a source familiar with the matter. The investigation, opened by DOJ pardon attorney Ed Martin when he was interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, examined whether aides used the signature device without Biden\u2019s full knowledge as his cognitive abilities allegedly declined late in his presidency.<\/p>\n<p>key points from the report:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The New York Times first noted the development. The probe was never presented to a grand jury and was wound down under Jeanine Pirro, the current U.S.attorney for Washington, D.C., a longtime ally of Donald Trump.DOJ officials did not comment.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Former President Trump had ordered a broader review of Biden\u2019s autopen use, alleging it could reveal cognitive decline. A House Oversight Committee report previously claimed Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >staff exercised presidential powers<\/a> without proper authorization and referred several Cabinet members for DOJ review.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; It remains unclear how often the autopen was used; there is no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-claims-uncles-body-was-never-found-after-ww2-plane-crash-because-of-a-lot-of-cannibals\/\" title=\"Biden suggests uncle&#039;s body was not found after WW2 crash due to \u2018many cannibals\">official government record<\/a> of its use.A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-ocasio-cortez-hit-with-second-ethics-complaint-over-tax-the-rich-met-gala-appearance\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Ocasio...Cortez Hit With Second Ethics Complaint Over \u2018Tax The Rich\u2019 Met Gala Appearance\">conservative watchdog group alleged<\/a> three signatures and eight dates in 2022, though details are contested.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Biden has denied wrongdoing,insisting he personally made decisions on pardons,executive orders,and other actions. The Oversight Project criticized the closure of the investigation and called for accountability.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The affair intersects with broader partisan debate, including related incidents such as a Florida arrest tied to a clemency decision Biden granted, underscoring ongoing political controversy over the autopen issue.  <\/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\">DOJ quietly closes autopen investigation targeting Biden and aides<\/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_2420121\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Department of Justice<\/a> has quietly closed an investigation into former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4469223\/biden-autopen-commutation-florida-arrest\/\">Joe Biden<\/a>&rsquo;s use of an autopen to sign official documents, according to a source familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n<p>DOJ pardon attorney Ed Martin, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4443498\/ed-martin-remain-doj-pardon-attorney-after-reported-demotion\/\">former &ldquo;weaponization&rdquo; czar<\/a>, opened the investigation while he was serving as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.&nbsp;The inquiry examined whether aides may have used the signature device without Biden&rsquo;s full knowledge or authorization as his cognitive abilities declined late in his presidency.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4480654\/five-takeaways-minnesota-fraud-hearing-walz-acknowledged-failures\/\">Five takeaways from Minnesota fraud hearing where Walz acknowledged failures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4480381\/doj-moves-block-state-ethics-investigations\/\">DOJ moves to block state ethics investigations against its attorneys<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4480005\/jared-polis-open-granting-clemency-convicted-colorado-election-clerk-tina-peters\/\">Jared Polis open to granting clemency to convicted Colorado election clerk Tina Peters<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Joe Biden speaks on the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act at the White House, Aug. 16, 2023. (Win McNamee\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <em>New York Times<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/04\/us\/politics\/trump-biden-autopen.html\">reported<\/a> the development, saying the matter concerned whether Biden and his aides broke any laws using the autopen to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-shoots-down-jill-biden-conspiracy-theory-shes-certainly-involved\/\" title=\"Trump Shoots Down Jill Biden Conspiracy Theory: &#039;She&#039;s Certainly Involved&#039;\">sign presidential documents<\/a>. The inquiry was later wound down under <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeanine-pirro\/\">Jeanine Pirro<\/a>, the current U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., and a longtime ally of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4443498\/ed-martin-remain-doj-pardon-attorney-after-reported-demotion\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The outlet also noted the autopen case was never presented to a grand jury, underscoring the difficulty prosecutors faced in pursuing a criminal case over the issue.<\/p>\n<p>Pirro&rsquo;s office is expected to release additional information about the matter in the near future, a source told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. A spokesperson for the DOJ did not respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokesman for Pirro&rsquo;s office.<\/p>\n<p>Trump ordered a sweeping review of Biden&rsquo;s use of an autopen in June, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3431719\/trump-biden-investigation-autopen-use-disrespectful\/\">directing the DOJ to investigate <\/a>whether aides used the device to conceal what he described as Biden&rsquo;s &ldquo;cognitive decline.&rdquo; Trump has repeatedly claimed that some executive orders signed with an autopen should be considered invalid.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, the House Committee on Oversight and Reforms spent months dragging former White House officials into closed-door testimonies to press them about the former president&rsquo;s use of the autopen and whether they observed signs of his cognitive decline. <\/p>\n<p>The committee <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3865570\/house-gop-oversight-report-finds-biden-staffers-exercised-presidential-powers\/\">released a 90-page report in October<\/a> finding that Biden&rsquo;s staff exercised presidential powers without authorization, and referred three key members of Biden&rsquo;s Cabinet, including his physician Kevin O&rsquo;Connor, for a DOJ investigation.<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear how frequently Biden used an autopen during his presidency, as there is no official government record tracking when the device is used. However, a group that shed light on Biden&rsquo;s autopen use, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stop-being-a-creepy-neighbor-ad-campaign-fights-state-farms-plan-to-distribute-lgbt-kids-books\/\" title=\"\u2018Stop Being a Creepy Neighbor\u2019: Ad Campaign Fights State Farm\u2019s Plan To Distribute LGBT Kids\u2019 Books\">conservative nonprofit group<\/a> known as the Oversight Project, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3435968\/biden-autopen-use-dc-widespread\/\">said last year it identified three distinct signatures<\/a> Biden used throughout his term as president and claimed it was used on eight separate dates in 2022 while the former president was staying at the White House.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, a 2005 DOJ memo found that presidents can use the autopen for official documents, though it was previously rarely used by presidents until former President Barack Obama used it to sign legislation in 2011 while he was abroad.<\/p>\n<p>Biden denied the allegations of his widespread autopen use in a June statement responding to Trump&rsquo;s claims.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,&rdquo; Biden said. &ldquo;I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn&rsquo;t is ridiculous and false.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday evening, the Oversight Project released a statement to X criticizing the closure of the investigation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The allegations from the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NYT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NYT<\/a> that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/doj?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DOJ<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USAO_DC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@USAO_DC<\/a> that were unable to move forward with a criminal prosecution into illegal autopen usage are disappointing. We will wait for the facts to emerge, but accountability for the &#8220;scandal of the century&#8221; is desperately needed and&hellip; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uCRPm0jlad\">pic.twitter.com\/uCRPm0jlad<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Oversight Project (@ItsYourGov) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ItsYourGov\/status\/2029325020502090196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>    <\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4469223\/biden-autopen-commutation-florida-arrest\/\"><strong>FLORIDA ARRESTS FELON RELEASED THROUGH BIDEN AUTOPEN COMMUTATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The report from New York Times that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office in Washington D.C. were unable to move forward with a criminal prosecution into illegal autopen usage are disappointing,&rdquo; the group said in a statement posted on X. &ldquo;We will wait for the facts to emerge, but accountability for the &lsquo;scandal of the century&rsquo; is desperately needed and deserved.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The development comes as some Republican officials continue exploring legal avenues tied to Biden&rsquo;s late-term clemency actions. In February, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4469223\/biden-autopen-commutation-florida-arrest\/\">Florida<\/a> authorities <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4469223\/biden-autopen-commutation-florida-arrest\/\">arrested a repeat offender<\/a> whose federal prison sentence had been commuted in the final days of Biden&rsquo;s presidency.<\/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>DOJ ends autopen probe into Biden aides<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2576289,"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\/2026\/01\/AP25300001486365.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[6810,51873,3620,7076,3976],"class_list":["post-2576288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-aides","tag-autopen","tag-biden","tag-doj","tag-investigation"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP25300001486365.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576288","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\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2576288"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2576292,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576288\/revisions\/2576292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2576289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2576288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2576288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2576288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}