Biden insists he made every clemency decision as House investigation into autopen ramps up

Published July 13, 2025 11:49pm ET



Former President Joe Biden said in a new interview published on Sunday that he “consciously” made all of the clemency decisions during his presidency, a defense that comes as a House committee is probing the 46th president’s use of an autopen for the controversial pardons and commutations.

As his time in the Oval Office came to a close, Biden issued many last-minute pardons, most notably to his son Hunter Biden and other family members, Dr. Anthony Fauci, members of the Jan. 6 committee, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, and a host of others. He also commuted the death sentences of 37 federal inmates, a move that was blasted by critics as an overreach of executive power.

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