Copyright Salt Lake City Deseret News
House Republicans on Tuesday released a report detailing former President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen and urged the Department of Justice to conduct a full investigation. The report, led by Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., raised questions about the legitimacy of Biden’s executive actions and his mental and physical health while in office. The autopen is a mechanical device that replicates a president’s signature and has been used in the past by other presidents. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have alleged the autopen was used without Biden’s knowledge to fake the appearance that the president was consciously carrying out executive actions. Republicans allege Biden’s aides in the White House covered up a months-long decline and improperly used the autopen to sign executive orders and pardons without the president’s involvement. The report argues Biden’s aides allegedly misled the nation. Biden and his top aides have consistently dismissed the allegations. The report says that the “scheme to hide the fallout” of Biden’s physical and mental acuity was “great but will likely never be fully calculated.” The report claims the aides’ actions put U.S. national security at risk and the country’s trust in leaders in jeopardy. Over the last several months, the committee conducted interviews with many members of Biden’s close circle in the White House. The investigation focused on Biden’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, who invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not testify before the committee. Other White House officials interviewed include Anita Dunn, the former senior adviser for communications for the president, Ian Sams, the former spokesperson for the president, former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, and others. The report also cited several surveys about Biden’s approval rating in office and his aging, information that is largely publicly available. The report said it found no evidence that Biden himself approved executive actions, including ones related to pardons. It also detailed the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and the pardon issued to him in the final days of Biden’s presidency. While the report offered sharp criticisms of Biden administration staff, it does not offer explicit examples of if or when aides did something with the autopen without Biden’s knowledge. Despite that, Republicans say actions taken that were signed with the autopen should be “void” without proper and traceable evidence the president authorized them. Comer shared the report online and said the “Biden Autopen Presidency will go down as one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history.” He said that during interviews with aides Democrats on the committee only averaged 15 minutes of questioning per witness, arguing “it’s clear Democrats never wanted you to know who ran the Biden White House.” He called on the Justice Department to conduct a “thorough review” of the executive actions signed by the autopen and the multiple people involved in the investigation who invoked the Fifth Amendment. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called the committee’s work a “blockbuster report.” He said it’s an “unprecedented situation” that has “major implications” for the president’s actions including pardons. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the lead Democrat on the Oversight Committee, released a statement criticizing the GOP’s “continued obsession” with Biden’s health amid the 28-day government shutdown. “Despite this sham investigation, every White House official testified President Biden fully executed his duties as President of the United States. The testimonies also make it clear the former President authorized every executive order, pardon, and use of the autopen,” Garcia said, calling on House Republicans to “come back to work and reopen our government.”
