Former President Donald Trump has claimed that multiple pardons issued by President Joe Biden are “void” because they were signed using an autopen—a device that replicates a signature—rather than being signed by hand. However, there is no evidence to support this assertion.
Trump made the claim on Truth Social, but he did not specify which pardons he was referring to. His statement aligns with claims from the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, which alleged that Biden’s January 19 pardons—granted to some family members and political figures—had identical autopen signatures.
Biden Has Signed Pardons by Hand
BBC Verify reviewed official photographs and found multiple instances of Biden signing pardons manually. In October 2022, Biden was photographed signing an order pardoning individuals convicted of marijuana possession. He also signed a pardon for non-violent offenders that same year.
While Biden has used autopen for certain documents—such as a bill extending federal aviation funding—there is no confirmed evidence that he has exclusively used autopen for pardons. The White House has been asked for clarification.
Legal Experts: Autopen Signatures Are Valid
Legal scholars confirm that US law does not require presidential pardons to be signed by hand. A 2005 Justice Department memo from the Bush administration affirmed that autopen signatures are legally valid for official documents. Past presidents, including Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, and Harry Truman, have used autopen for various official duties.
Additionally, the National Archives confirms that the Federal Register—a digital archive of government documents—uses a sample presidential signature for all presidents, including Trump. Notably, Trump’s own pardons for January 6 rioters were published in the Federal Register with a standardized signature.
Without any legal basis for invalidating autopen-signed documents, Trump’s claim appears to be unfounded. The Biden administration has yet to issue a formal response.
