Biden defends autopen use for mass pardons at end of term, says 'a whole lot of people' needed clemency

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former President Joe Biden defended his controversial use of an autopen while shedding light on his administration's rationale for using the technology.

He made the remarks during a recent New York Times interview, which was centered around his use of an autopen for the pardons he issued at the end of his term as POTUS.

Joe Biden defends use of autopen for pardons

Joe Biden granted clemency and pardoned more than 1,500 individuals during his final weeks in office. The Biden White House described it at the time as the largest single-day act of clemency by a POTUS.

During his NYT interview on Thursday, July 10, Biden said that he "made every decision" on his own.

The Democrat said, "We’re talking about [granting clemency to] a whole lot of people."

However, the outlet reported that the former president "did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people," as per Biden and his aides.

The NYT report read, "Rather, after extensive discussion of different possible criteria, [Biden] signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence."

Interestingly, Biden's staff used an autopen to put his signature on the final version instead of repeatedly asking him to sign updated versions of official documents.

The 82-year-old made the comments amid Republicans' attacks over his use of an autopen.

Donald Trump sent memo to Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate autopen use

In June, President Donald Trump sent a memo to the Department of Justice directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the autopen usage and determine if it was related to a decline in Joe Biden's mental state.

Trump wrote, "In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden's aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline and assert Article II authority."

He added, "This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts."

Moreover, the Republican leader told reporters in June that he thought it was "inappropriate" to use an autopen at all, even though other presidents, including Trump, have used them. 

He said, "Usually, when they put documents in front of you, they're important. Even if you're signing ambassadorships or – and I consider that important, I think it's inappropriate."

"You have somebody that's devoting four years of their life or more to being an ambassador. I think you really deserve that person deserves to get a real signature… not an autopen signature," Trump added.

Internet slams Joe Biden as he defends autopen use

Netizens weren't having it when it came to Joe Biden defending his controversial use of an autopen, stating a "whole lot of people" needed clemency.

A user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "He made 'every decision' he was allowed to make by his handlers. I doubt he knew much towards the end," while one added, "Easy enough; just ask Biden to name everyone he pardoned. Everyone he forgets is null and void."

A person stated, "Biden did not make every decision and we all know it. The man could not even walk across the White House lawn by himself unaccompanied," whereas someone else mentioned, "Biden did not see the final list so he didn’t make the decisions. His aide and auto-pen did."

One more wrote, "Can’t prove he made the decisions. Can prove a machine signed them. They are invalid," while an individual brazenly claimed, "He's lying. When discussing prices, he was completely unaware of what he'd signed."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.