Overview
- House Oversight Republicans released a roughly 90–100 page report asserting some Biden-era actions signed by autopen lack proof of the president’s authorization and should be deemed void.
- The report alleges senior aides exercised presidential authority, directed autopen use without adequate documentation, and left significant gaps in decision records, with several witnesses invoking the Fifth Amendment.
- Committee leaders asked the Justice Department to examine all Biden executive actions and referred Biden physician Kevin O’Connor to the D.C. Board of Medicine for potential review.
- Democrats and legal analysts dispute the findings, noting the report does not identify a specific instance of unauthorized autopen use and citing longstanding DOJ guidance allowing autopen use when authorized by the president.
- Experts caution that even if procedural lapses were found, there are steep legal barriers to invalidating pardons or commutations, and a congressional committee cannot itself nullify presidential acts.