<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>President </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Donald Trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span> claimed on Monday that pardons recently issued by Joe Biden to lawmakers and staff on the congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot have no force because the-then president signed them with an autopen instead of by his own hand.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!” Trump wrote on his social media site. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump didn’t offer any evidence to support his claims. Nor did the White House.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/court-puts-a-temporary-hold-on-releasing-records-related-to-the-deaths-of-gene-hackman-and-his-wife/86371b7a-7259-49ce-af85-df26e4e20c1c" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Possibly shocking': Court twist in death of Gene Hackman and his wife</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump asserted in his post, in all caps, that the pardons are void and have no effect in his estimation. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But presidents have broad authority to pardon or commute the sentences of whomever they please, the Constitution doesn’t specify that pardons must be in writing and autopen signatures have been used before for substantive actions by presidents.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Asked if White House lawyers had told Trump he has the legal authority to undo pardons signed by autopen, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said "the president was raising the point that did the president even know about these pardons? Was his legal signature used without his consent or knowledge and that’s not just the president or me raising those questions.”</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-autopen-contends-bidens-pardons-no-force/349f5588-3f78-47a8-9c91-63f59f3178de" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She went on to cite recent reporting by the </span><em><span>New York Post </span></em><span>that quoted two unidentified Biden White House aides who speculated about alleged abuse of the autopen during his tenure.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pressed for evidence that Biden was unaware of the pardons, Leavitt told the press corps at the daily briefing, “You're a reporter. You should find out.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/search-for-us-student-in-dominican-republic-intensifies-with-witness-account/24304920-4390-4bc3-afcc-131d314c3e7a" target="_blank"><strong><span>Search for US student in Dominican Republic intensifies with witness account</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>What is an autopen?</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An autopen is a mechanical device that is used to replicate a person's authentic signature. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A pen or other writing implement is held by an arm of the machine, which reproduces a signature after a writing sample has been fed to it. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Presidents, including Trump, have used them for decades. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Autopens aren't the same as an old-fashioned ink pad and rubber stamp or the electronic signatures used on PDF documents.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/heavy-rain-potential-floods-tropical-north-queensland-continues/10ad0dd6-66dc-40cb-8853-e9e6b766bfd9" target="_blank"><strong><span>Queensland warned of floods with triple-digit falls forecast</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Why is it suddenly an issue?</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Oversight Project at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank recently said its analysis of thousands of pages of documents bearing Biden's signature found that most were by autopen, including pardons. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Conservative media have amplified the claims, which have been picked up by Trump. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He has commented for several days running about Biden's autopen use.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mike Howell, the project's executive director, has said the “prolific” use of the autopen suggests that Biden wasn't in charge and “we're going to figure out who was actually the president.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howell also said pardons require a “wet signature.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Constitution doesn't address how pardons, a power that only a president can wield, should be issued.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-promises-80-000-pages-of-jfk-files-released-tomorrow/4b04e51f-9098-47d4-a352-6786a8e5fce3"><strong><span>Trump pledges release of 80,000 pages of JFK files</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>What does the law say?</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There is no law governing a president's use of an autopen.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A 2005 opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department said an autopen can be used to sign legislation. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Barack Obama became the first president to do so in May 2011 when he signed an extension of the Patriot Act. Obama was in France on official business and, with time running out before the law expired, he authorised use of the autopen to sign it into law.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Much earlier guidance on pardons was sent in 1929 from the solicitor general — the attorney who argues for the United States before the Supreme Court — to the attorney general. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It says "neither the Constitution nor any statute prescribes the method by which executive clemency shall be exercised or evidenced."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Has Trump used an Autopen?</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Yes, but “only for very unimportant papers," he said on Monday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night that, "we may use it, as an example, to send some young person a letter because it’s nice. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You know, we get thousands and thousands of letters, letters of support for young people, from people that aren’t feeling well, etcetera. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But to sign pardons and all of the things that he signed with an autopen is disgraceful.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Why is he singling out the January 6 pardons?</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump remains angry at being prosecuted by the Justice Department over his actions in inspiring his supporters to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying Biden's defeat of him in the 2020 election, though the case was dismissed after he won reelection. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the end of his term, Biden issued “preemptive pardons” to lawmakers and committee staff to protect them from any possible retribution from Trump.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On whether pardons must be in writing or by the president's own hand, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has said the ”plain language of the Constitution imposes no such limitation.” </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Biden’s statement accompanying those pardons make clear they were official acts, said Carl Tobias, professor at the University of Richmond law school.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Biden issued hundreds of commutations or pardons, including to members of his family, also because he feared possible prosecution by Trump and his allies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump vigorously used such powers at the opening of his presidency, issuing one document — a proclamation — granting pardons and commutations to all 1,500-plus people charged in the insurrection at the Capitol.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>How else do presidents use the Autopen?</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Presidents also use an autopen to sign routine correspondence to constituents, like letters recognising important life milestones.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During the Gerald Ford administration, the president and first lady Betty Ford occasionally signed documents and other correspondence by hand but White House staff more often used autopen machines to reproduce their signatures on letters and photographs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Leavitt is one of three Trump administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First- and Fifth-amendment grounds. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.</span></div></div>