Biden’s Autopen Pardons: Legally Void, Morally Bankrupt, and a Constitutional Travesty

The House Oversight Committee’s October 28, 2025, report is not partisan theater—it’s a legal indictment. Over 1,200 executive actions, including a sweeping batch of preemptive pardons issued in Biden’s final weeks, were signed not by a cognizant president, but by a mechanical autopen operated under vague, second-hand directives from aides. The conclusion is unambiguous:

these pardons are null and void. They fail on three constitutional grounds—lack of directive, lack of cognition, and pardoning actual crimes rather than miscarriages of justice—and the American people have every right to demand the DOJ reopen every case.

Let’s be clear: the autopen itself is not the problem. Presidents from Jefferson to Obama have used mechanical or delegated signatures for routine documents. A 2005 DOJ memo and historical practice confirm: an autopen is constitutionally permissible if the president personally authorizes its use and is mentally capable of doing so. But Biden’s team admitted under oath that many decisions were relayed via email chains, with no contemporaneous record of Biden himself reviewing or approving the pardons.

One aide testified that Biden “nodded” during a briefing—a nod is not a directive. Another said the president “seemed to understand” when shown a list. Seeming is not knowing. When the president’s own physician refused to certify cognitive fitness in 2024, and when staff shielded him from unscripted press for 18 months, the burden of proof shifts: show us the directive, or the pardon dies.

But the deeper violation is substantive, not procedural. The Constitution’s Pardon Clause (Article II, Section 2) was never intended as a presidential get-out-of-jail-free card for allies. Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 74 described clemency as a tool to correct “unfortunate guilt”—cases where justice was technically served but mercy was warranted. The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed this limit: pardons cannot be used to obstruct justice, shield ongoing crimes, or nullify constitutional process.

Yet Biden’s pardons did exactly that:

• Hunter Biden was pardoned for federal gun and tax crimes to which he had already pled guilty—actual crimes, not injustices.

• Members of the January 6 Select Committee received preemptive pardons for potential “retaliatory investigations”—a blatant attempt to immunize political warfare, not correct wrongful convictions.

• Mark Milley, Liz Cheney, and others were shielded despite credible allegations of leaking classified material and insubordination—again, crimes, not errors of justice.

These are not “miscarriages.” They are felonies. The pardon power does not sit above the Constitution—it is bound by it. As the Court ruled in Schick v. Reed (1974), any pardon that “offends the Constitution” or “aggravates punishment beyond law” is void. Pardoning known crimes to protect a political class aggravates justice—it doesn’t repair it.

The GOP is right to demand a DOJ investigation, but don’t hold your breath. We’ve been here before. Trump promised to “drain the swamp” in 2016—then pardoned Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and Charles Kushner. He used the autopen himself for 1,500 January 6 commutations, many for violent offenders who assaulted police. The same system that shields Democrats today shielded Republicans yesterday. Criminals protect criminals—not out of loyalty, but survival. When one side weaponizes justice, the other learns the playbook. The result? A bipartisan immunity cartel where no one at the top ever pays.

That’s why voiding these pardons matters. It’s not revenge—it’s restoration. If a president cannot prove he personally directed a pardon and was mentally capable of doing so, the act fails. If the pardon shields actual guilt rather than injustice, it violates the Constitution. The DOJ must:

1. Demand original directive records—emails, notes, voice recordings—for every autopen pardon.

2. Require cognitive capacity evidence—medical exams, staff attestations under oath.

3. Vacate every pardon that fails either test.

4. Reopen prosecutions where evidence of crime exists.

This isn’t about Biden alone. It’s about ending the precedent that a president—any president—can launder crimes through a rubber stamp and a foggy mind. The autopen is a tool, not a throne. Cognition and directive are non-negotiable. And justice cannot be pardoned.

The American people deserve more than crumbs of accountability. They deserve a DOJ that enforces the Constitution—not one that protects the political class. Until that happens, every autopen pardon remains a stain on the republic—and a reminder that in Washington, the only injustice that gets pardoned is the truth.