The Trump White House has launched an investigation into former President Joe Biden and his top aides’ use of an autopen during Biden’s final months in office.
The new investigation, which will be carried out in conjunction with the Justice Department, according to top White House aides, comes as Republicans on the House Oversight Committee pursue their own investigation of Biden’s closest circle of White House advisers.
COMER EXPANDS BIDEN AUTOPEN INVESTIGATION WITH MORE WITNESS INTERVIEWS
“The White House Counsel’s Office has launched their own investigation into former President Biden’s usage of the autopen,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced at Thursday’s press briefing, noting that the office has already requested relevant emails, communications, and other documents from the National Archives.
“It’s incredibly important that we get to the bottom of who really was at the tip of the spear and the decision-making process here at the White House,” Leavitt said. “I know the American people want to receive answers on who was running the show, because the decisions that were made in this place really destroyed our country, and we deserve to get to the bottom of it.”
BIDEN AUTOPEN USE IN DC WAS MORE WIDESPREAD THAN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN
On Monday morning, the New York Times published an interview with Biden, in which the former president said he gave verbal authorization for the more than 4,000 clemency actions signed via autopen between the November 2024 general election and his departure from government in January.
Senior White House aides told the Washington Examiner that, while clearly meant as a defensive strategy, Biden’s answers “raised new questions,” and the interview motivated Trump’s team to launch its own investigation.
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Earlier this week, White House aides said they had not received any of the documents in question from the National Archives but expected them to be turned over quickly, citing the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision regarding the National Archives and executive privilege.
In June, Trump signed a memo directing his White House counsel and the DOJ to investigate Biden’s alleged health cover-up. A lawyer for Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, cited the DOJ investigation as a reason he needed to invoke his Fifth Amendment right during a recent deposition before the House Oversight Committee.
