President Donald Trump said on March 17 that pardons issued by his predecessor are no longer in effect because of evidence suggesting that they were signed with an autopen.
Those include pardons issued for former members of the U.S. House of Representatives committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, Trump said. The former members “should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,” he wrote.
Autopens are devices that let people sign documents using preloaded signatures.
The foundation noted that some pardons signed on Dec. 30, 2022, were said to have been signed in Washington but that Biden was on vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands at the time.
After the foundation published its analysis, Trump began talking about the issue.
When asked about the legitimacy of Biden’s pardons by a reporter on Air Force One on March 16, Trump indicated it would be up to the court system to settle the matter.
No lawsuits appear to have been filed against Trump’s declaration as of yet.
The U.S. Constitution states that a president “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States,” a pardon power recognized by courts as broad.
The limits to the power include not being able to issue pardons for future conduct, according to an 1866 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Courts have said that presidents can issue pardons even if they’re not in writing.
It also stated: “A clemency warrant or, indeed, any writing, is not required for the President to exercise this authority under the Constitution. Hypothetically, the President could proclaim at a press conference in the Rose Garden that he has pardoned a particular individual, and that would be a valid act.”
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