House Committee Deems Biden's Autopen Use Void; Calls For DOJ to Address Consequences

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report Tuesday on the investigation into former President Joe Biden’s reported declining health and use of the autopen.

The Details: The 100-page report by the committee detailed an investigation into Biden’s mental decline and the actions of his “inner circle of loyalists attempting to mislead the nation to ignore what people’s eyes plainly showed them.” It called Biden’s time in office the “Biden Autopen Presidency,” saying it “ranks among the greatest scandals in U.S. history.” A letter was also sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the executive actions signed by autopen during Biden’s presidency are deemed void by the committee and “that action by the Department of Justice is warranted to address the legal consequences of that determination.” The investigation focused on all executive actions that utilized the autopen, but extra focus was given to pardons and commutations made at the end of Biden’s presidency. Led by Chairman James Comer (R-KY), the committee also wrote a letter to the Board of Medicine for Washington DC, asking them to investigate former White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor.

For Context: Biden’s cognitive ability has been questioned on several occasions. Special Counsel Robert Hur cited Biden’s “poor memory” when deciding not to charge him for his handling of classified documents in February 2024. Biden’s performance during a debate with now-President Donald Trump during the 2024 election season also showed Biden struggling to finish sentences. Trump has also accused Biden of abusing the autopen, stirring debate from both sides of the political aisle on whether Biden’s autopen use was justified. Democrats boycotted a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in June investigating Biden’s alleged cognitive decline while in office. Biden in May was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and media outlets were cherry picking medical guidance that fit their narrative to show why it should or should not have been caught sooner.

How the Media Covered It: Fox News (Right bias) called the committee's report “scathing,” saying “Comer unleashes on Biden.”  The outlet highlighted that a part of the report raised concerns “about Hunter Biden’s role in the pardon process,” noting reports from ex-Biden chief of staff Jeff Zients claiming “that Hunter Biden was in the room for some pardon discussions — specifically the controversial preemptive pardons the ex-president gave to his relatives.” CNN (Lean Left) highlighted the fact that the oversight committee is “GOP-controlled,” noting that Biden “publicly disputed” the notion that he didn’t make “all decisions as president,” stating that Biden called all Republicans who suggested otherwise “liars.” The article said that “although the committee raised serious questions about the Biden administration’s process for awarding pardons, it did not cite any direct evidence that anyone other than Biden made the decisions.” The Hill (Center) noted that “the report does not point to a specific incident in which the investigators could demonstrate the autopen was used without Biden’s authorization,” but also highlighted arguments in the committees report saying that Biden “did not have—or did not follow—a set procedure governing the use of the autopen” which according to the committee report “was yet another weak link in the chain of presidential decisionmaking.”  

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