President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is voiding all last-minute pardons issued by former President Joe Biden, citing concerns that they were signed using an autopen rather than personally authorized.
“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump further claimed that Biden was unaware of the pardons, alleging that they were issued without his direct approval. “The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden,” Trump continued. “He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime.”
The move targets a series of 11th-hour pardons issued by Biden, including preemptive pardons for all nine members of the January 6 House select committee, among them former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS). Biden also pardoned former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Dr. Anthony Fauci, both of whom have been at the center of controversies surrounding the Trump administration.
If SCOTUS approves this, there isn’t enough popcorn in the world… https://t.co/EDZXfWWcFh
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 17, 2025
Milley has been a vocal critic of Trump, calling him a “wannabe dictator” and testifying before Congress regarding Trump’s actions during the January 6 Capitol riot. Fauci, meanwhile, has faced scrutiny for his role in the COVID-19 response, including his repeated denials that U.S. tax dollars funded gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Trump condemned Biden’s pardons as “disgraceful” and accused many of those granted clemency of committing “MAJOR CRIMES.” He also warned that members of the January 6 committee would now face investigations at the highest level.
“Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two-year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,” Trump wrote.
The legal standing of Trump’s action remains unclear. Courts have historically upheld the broad power of presidential pardons, but the issue of whether an autopen signature constitutes valid authorization could be tested.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has already raised concerns about the autopen use, alleging that dozens of Biden’s executive orders may have been authorized with identical signatures. “If true, these executive orders, pardons, and all other actions are unconstitutional and legally void,” Bailey said last week, calling for a Department of Justice investigation into whether Biden’s cognitive state allowed unelected staff to push through radical policies without his knowledge.
