What began as a bizarre footnote in Biden-era bureaucracy has officially exploded into a full-blown scandal. The Oversight Project has blown the lid off what’s now being called the Biden Autopen Scandal, revealing that thousands of executive actions and pardons were rubber-stamped by machine — not the president himself.
It all started back in December 2022, when President Biden was soaking up sun and swinging a golf club in St. Croix. While he vacationed, his autopen was hard at work, granting clemency to six convicted criminals. That alone raised eyebrows, but now, thanks to newly released emails and congressional testimony, it’s clear: that was just the tip of the iceberg.
The New York Times confirmed that Biden didn’t personally sign off on the final versions of many pardons — and that in some cases, he didn’t even see the final list. Instead, staffers, including his staff secretary Stefanie Feldman and Domestic Policy Director Neera Tanden, made the call to run the orders through the autopen. They claimed Biden had “orally approved” the criteria, but that’s not how the Constitution works.
Tanden admitted under oath that she used the autopen from 2021 to 2023 — and in many cases, without verifying directly from Biden himself whether the specific action was authorized. That’s not delegation. That’s a shadow presidency.
To make matters worse, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients was found to have directly authorized the use of the autopen for a batch of high-profile pardons — including one for none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci — with a quick “reply all” email sent at 10:31 p.m. the night before Biden left office.
Now, the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, has launched an investigation. Subpoenas have been issued. Key aides like Jill Biden’s Chief of Staff Anthony Bernal are dodging depositions. Biden’s physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor invoked the Fifth Amendment ten times during questioning about the president’s mental fitness.
So let’s get this straight: Biden doesn’t read the documents, staffers make changes after he’s “signed off” on vague guidelines, and a robotic pen is approving legal orders in his name — all while the man himself is golfing or reportedly going to bed before 8 p.m.
This isn’t just shady. It’s unprecedented. And if Congress has any backbone left, accountability better be coming fast.
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