Trump calls for criminal charges as investigation reveals automated signatures on high-stakes documents dating back to 2022
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A new report from the Oversight Project has intensified scrutiny over the Biden administration’s use of autopen technology, revealing that nearly all of President Joe Biden’s executive orders and clemency warrants since mid-2022 were signed by machine, not by hand.
The analysis found a sharp shift from wet signatures during Biden’s first 18 months in office to exclusive use of autopen beginning in late spring 2022. The change coincided with what the group described as “President Biden’s mental and physical decline,” raising concerns about who has been authorizing major executive actions on his behalf.
The Oversight Project reported that only one document—a 2024 announcement that Biden was exiting the presidential race—bore a verified wet signature. All other reviewed executive orders, clemency warrants, and policy actions featured mechanically replicated autographs.
Notably, the group identified autopen signatures on a series of highly sensitive executive orders, including:
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EO 14097: Combating International Drug Trafficking (April 27, 2023), which mobilized the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces
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EO 14098: Sanctions on Sudan (May 4, 2023)
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EO 14114: Countering Russian Aggression (December 22, 2023)
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EO 14118: Terminating the Zimbabwe Emergency (March 4, 2024)
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EO 14122: Public Health Preparedness (April 12, 2024)
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EO 14130: Amending the Manual for Courts-Martial (December 20, 2024)
In a related report, a former White House insider told the New York Post that a powerful Biden staffer—suspected by the Oversight Project to be Neera Tanden—may have independently authorized documents for autopen signature without direct oversight. “I feared no one as much as I feared that [staffer]. To me, [the staffer] basically was the president,” the source said. “No one ever questioned [the staffer]. Period.”
The Oversight Project also revealed that while Biden issued 51 clemency warrants during his term, 32 were signed using two distinct autopen variations—Autopen A and Autopen B—identified by minor typographic differences in the signature’s letterforms. Only 19 warrants appeared to have genuine signatures.
“These include pardons and commutations for individuals convicted of murder, espionage, and military offenses,” the report stated. “Among the recipients: individuals tied to military support for Iran, two men who killed FBI agents, and dozens of drug traffickers.”
The organization posted side-by-side examples of the autopens on social media, noting: “SECOND AUTOPEN DISCOVERED,” and challenging Tanden directly for her role as White House Staff Secretary during a period when President Biden allegedly signed pardons from a golf course in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In response to the findings, former President Donald Trump called Sunday for the jailing of whoever operated Biden’s autopen. The remarks came amid rising calls for congressional investigation into the delegation of executive authority and potential violations of federal document authentication standards.
The Biden administration has not publicly addressed the claims.
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