The long history and controversy of presidential autopen use

Published May 31, 2025 6:00am ET



Many people first heard the term “autopen” when President Donald Trump accused his predecessor of using it illicitly earlier this spring.

“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 March 17.

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