President Trump is claiming the preemptive pardons that President Joseph R. Biden granted to the House select committee on the Jan. 6 riot are not valid because his predecessor used an autopen to sign them.
Mr. Trump, posting Monday on Truth Social, said the pardons are “hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT.”
Autopen signatures are created by machine rather than hand. Many presidents dating back over half a century are believed to have used the modern autopen.
Mr. Biden’s critics argue that the use of the autopen suggests he might not have fully understood what he was signing.
Mr. Trump said the autopen undercuts the pardons granted to committee members, though he did not show any evidence that Mr. Biden did not understand his actions.
“In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!” Mr. Trump posted. “The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”
SEE ALSO: Trump wonders about the validity of Biden documents signed with an autopen
The legal world was skeptical of the auto pen invalidating Mr. Biden’s pardons.
Brian Kalt, a law professor at Michigan State University, said it “seems like a stretch.”
“The only way I could see it being a legitimate issue is if there is some evidence that Biden did not approve the pardon in any way. If he approved it, the fact that a pardon was executed with an autopen should not be a problem,” Mr. Kalt said.
Mark Osler, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas, also doubted the pardons were invalid, though he said there wasn’t much case law to rely on.
“It would be very hard to prove that Biden didn’t know about these or it was done behind his back,” he said.
Members of the House Jan. 6 Committee are unlikely to preemptively file with a court to validate their pardon. It would only come up in court if the Justice Department opened an investigation or filed charges. Then, they could use the pardon in court as an absolute defense.
The House select committee was established to investigate the events that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob as Congress tried to certify Mr. Biden’s 2020 election win over Mr. Trump.
The panel consisted of Democrats and two GOP critics of Mr. Trump. The president remains furious at the group and alleges they destroyed documents or committed other crimes.
One Republican member, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, posted a GIF of actor Will Ferrell making a come-here gesture with his hand, writing: “Bring it on, b——.”
Mr. Biden, fearing retribution by Mr. Trump, issued pardons to the committee members, D.C. police and U.S. Capitol Police members who testified before the panel.
No provision in the Constitution allows a president to revoke a pardon. However, there have been debates about whether a pardon was formally completed and delivered to pardoned persons.
Mr. Trump said members face legal jeopardy, regardless.
“Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,” Mr. Trump posted.
President Obama created a furor in 2011 when he used an autopen to sign an extension of the Patriot Act. Mr. Obama was abroad at a summit in France when Congress approved the extension, and with the powers slated to expire the president gave an OK by phone for a remote signature.
He was acting under a 2005 opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel that concluded the president didn’t need to personally affix his signature for a bill to be valid.
That was a reversal from previous guidance, by that same OLC, that ruled the president did need to physically sign a bill.
Mr. Obama’s situation was even more tenuous, given he was more than 3,000 miles away from the bill when it was signed.
