The Voice News: Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump has ordered a formal investigation into former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen to sign official documents, raising renewed concerns over Biden’s cognitive health and the legitimacy of his presidential actions.
The directive, issued Wednesday evening, calls on administration officials—working alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi—to examine whether senior aides to Biden misled the public about his mental state and improperly executed presidential authority on his behalf.
Scope of the Investigation
According to the Trump administration, the review will focus on documents signed by autopen, including executive orders, clemency grants, presidential memoranda, and federal judicial appointments. The order alleges that Biden, now 82, suffered from “serious cognitive decline,” and that aides may have used the autopen as part of a cover-up.
Despite these claims, the Biden administration during its term issued more than 1,200 presidential directives, appointed 235 federal judges, and granted more pardons and commutations than any other U.S. administration in history.
Background and Political Tensions
The move comes amid intensifying scrutiny by House Republicans, who have launched their own probes into Biden’s mental fitness following his recent cancer diagnosis and the release of a controversial book, Original Sin, which questions the former president’s decision-making capacity.
Trump, meanwhile, has escalated rhetoric in recent days by promoting a fringe conspiracy theory falsely claiming that Biden was “executed in 2020” and replaced with clones or robotic doubles—an assertion widely debunked and dismissed as baseless.
Presidential Use of Autopen
While Trump’s investigation is unprecedented in its scope, the use of autopen is not new. Historical records show that presidents dating back to Thomas Jefferson used mechanical writing devices. Gerald Ford admitted to using an autopen, and Barack Obama became the first president to sign legislation with one in 2011.
Trump himself has acknowledged occasionally using the autopen, particularly for personal communications.
Legal and Constitutional View
A 2005 opinion from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that a president is not required to physically sign legislation, provided the decision to sign was made by the president.
Criticism and Timing
Critics argue the probe is politically motivated, aimed at deflecting public attention from Trump’s own challenges—including economic uncertainty and faltering approval ratings ahead of the upcoming election. Trump has dismissed unfavorable polls as “fake,” even as internal party tensions simmer.
The White House has not announced a timeline for the investigation’s completion.