WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump alleged on Thursday that officials within Joe Biden’s administration might have forged the president’s signature and taken unauthorized actions. Trump admitted that he had no evidence to substantiate these claims during a meeting in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He reiterated his long-standing allegations that the Biden administration used an autopen to sign crucial documents like presidential pardons and executive orders, raising doubts about their legitimacy.
“Essentially, whoever used the autopen was the president,” Trump asserted. “And that is wrong. It’s illegal, it’s so bad and it’s so disrespectful to our country.” He claimed that there were rogue elements in Biden's administration who were purportedly faking the president’s signature and governing beyond Biden's awareness, which, according to Trump, pushed the administration further left than Biden might have intended.
When pressed by reporters for evidence regarding specific documents signed without Biden's knowledge or actions taken illegally, Trump responded, “No. But I’ve uncovered, you know, the human mind.” He referenced Biden's “disastrous” debate performance from the previous summer, suggesting that Biden lacked awareness of the actions being undertaken by his administration.
Biden responded to Trump’s allegations in a statement on Wednesday night, firmly rejecting any implication that actions were taken without his explicit knowledge. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden stated. This assertion came after Trump directed an investigation into Biden's presidential actions, claiming that aides have hidden his predecessor’s “cognitive decline” and alleging that the use of the autopen undermined numerous presidential actions.
The investigation ordered by Trump involves Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel David Warrington and signifies an escalation in Trump’s quest to target political opponents. This could potentially lead to arguments by Republicans that many of Biden's presidential actions are invalid, though the Justice Department has historically accepted the use of autopens for signing legislation and pardons.
Trump's criticisms of Biden also reflect his ongoing fixation with the president who defeated him in the 2020 election. Trump has never conceded the outcome, continuing to falsely assert that the election was rigged against him. On Thursday, he even invoked this narrative while discussing Biden’s use of the autopen, which he himself admitted to using to efficiently sign letters but contended Biden’s actions amounted to “the biggest scandal, maybe in the last hundred years in this country.”
Biden issued pardons for his family members shortly before leaving office in January, an action Trump interpreted as an attempt to shield them from possible indictments should he return to power. These pardons included individuals involved in a congressional investigation of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, an event heavily scrutinized by both parties.
In a related development, House Oversight Chairman James Comer of Kentucky has requested transcribed interviews with five former aides to Biden, alleging they were part of a “cover-up” that he called one of the greatest scandals in U.S. history. Comer insisted that these aides were eyewitnesses to Biden's operational decisions within the White House and demanded they appear before the House Oversight Committee to discuss the president's cognitive abilities and decision-making processes.
Rep. Brandon Gill, a Republican from Texas, echoed these sentiments, arguing that the American people deserve transparency regarding who is actually running the country. He maintained that it is essential to uncover the truth surrounding Biden's governance.
