Biden tells Trump about Hunter Biden’s pardon in an exclusive exit interview
USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page discusses her exclusive interview with President Biden about the election, his family, and his legacy.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has long focused on his predecessor using an autopen to sign official documents during his presidency. He is now seeking an investigation into former President Joe Biden’s dependence on mechanical equipment.
The use of the President of the Autopen is not prohibited or considered unconstitutional. And Trump himself admitted that his staff had used it to sign the letter on his behalf.
However, the president has repeatedly descended on Biden using an autopen amid new allegations that the former president’s health is declining while in office. He denounced the former White House aide without Biden’s knowledge and without evidence of signing documents containing the president’s amnesty.
“Everyone who used Autoopen was president,” he told reporters on June 5th. “And that’s wrong, it’s illegal, it’s so bad.”
Which president used the autopen?
According to the Shapell Manuscript Foundation, the president is believed to have employed an autopen for more than 200 years since the time of Thomas Jefferson, who obtained one of the machines after obtaining the patent in 1803.
Gerald Ford, Lyndon B. Johnson, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are all known to have used devices. President Obama became the first president to resort to autopen to sign the law in 2011 to push forward a bill extending the Patriot Act that arrived on a desk during a trip to France.
The conflict with Biden is on the way further. Trump and his aides have accused Biden staff of illegal activities.
“It’s clearly illegal behaviour if the US president knew that it was being used, and if not, who used it in his name,” White House press director Karoline Leavitt said at a June 3 briefing.
The former president overturned the allegations in a June 4 statement, calling them “distractions.” Biden said he “decided” about pardons, executive orders, laws and declarations” during his presidency.
Is Autoopen legal?
In 2005, the Department of Justice determined that using an autopen was legal.
“Based on this understanding, I think a person can sign a document by instructing that their signature be attached to another person,” the DOJ memo said.
Legal scholars argued that even if Biden uses an autopen, nothing would require the Constitutional president to sign an amnesty.
Detailing his opinion, Trump said on June 5 that he believes that using an autopen in documents is “inappropriate” even for relatively minor orders, such as the appointment of an ambassador. “When you get your auto pen signature, I think it’s very rude to people,” he said.
How about Trump?
In his remarks to reporters, Trump confirmed that he also uses an autopen. However, he suggested that he would not use a device that mimics his signature when signing important documents.
“For me, I use it when thousands of letters come in from young people all over the country,” Trump said.
He said that the US president receives thousands of letters a week, and it is impossible to respond to each individually. “For me, that’s where the autopen starts and stops,” he said.
“I’m not a big autopen guy,” Trump declared. “That’s an easy way.”
