Biden defends use of autopen in clemency decisions, slams Republican claims

Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has pushed back strongly against Republican allegations questioning his mental fitness and control over clemency decisions made in the final days of his presidency, particularly focusing on the use of an autopen to authorise a flurry of pardons and commutations.

In a phone interview with The New York Times, Mr. Biden confirmed that he personally approved every clemency order issued at the end of his term and authorized the use of an autopen—a mechanical device that replicates a person’s signature—for practical reasons.

“I made every decision,” Mr. Biden said. “We’re talking about a whole lot of people.” He dismissed Republican suggestions that his staff had acted without his consent as “lies” and accused President Donald Trump and his allies of deliberately misleading the public.

The controversy centers on a series of high-profile clemency actions signed using the autopen, which Republicans have seized upon as alleged evidence that Mr. Biden was not mentally or administratively in control during the final stretch of his presidency. GOP lawmakers have launched investigations and are seeking sworn testimony from former Biden aides—some of whom have retained legal counsel in anticipation of subpoenas and potential legal exposure.

What makes Biden’s case politically charged is its intersection with broader Republican efforts to portray the president as cognitively unfit for office. With congressional Republicans escalating their probe and the Trump-era Justice Department reportedly weighing perjury charges over any inconsistencies in testimony, the dispute over a pen has turned into a proxy battle over presidential legitimacy and capacity.

By Khagan Isayev