Last Updated on March 17, 2025
President Donald Trump is trying to nullify pardons issued by the former occupant of his office, Joe Biden. Why? Because Joe Biden allegedly used an “autopen” machine to sign pardons.
“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” President Trump stated Monday in a typically hilarious Truth Social rant.
“In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! 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,” Trump added on Truth Social, and that comment gets to the heart of the issue.
While the mainstream media is scrambling to argue that previous presidents have used autopens, the Constitution makes it clear that the president must issue the pardons himself. If pardons were issued under Biden without Biden’s knowledge, then the pardons are null and void. Joe Biden infamously pardoned his own son Hunter, which sadly might be one of the only policies that Biden actually played a part in crafting during his failed administration.
Can Trump prove definitively that Biden did not issue his own pardons? Perhaps during the legal process, someone will come forward to finally testify that Biden didn’t know what he was doing.
President Trump seems willing to fight for his policy in court.
“It’s not my decision, that would be up to a court. But I would say that they’re null and void, because I’m sure Biden didn’t have any idea that it was taking place,” President Trump stated in an Air Force One conversation with reporters.
Will President Trump’s policy hold up? Considering Trump’s explanation to the press, it seems obvious that the pardons can be voided if it can be proved that Joe Biden did not know he was actually making the pardons.
According to Article II Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution: “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
