Biden Defends Autopen Use as Trump Sparks Investigation into Executive Power

Former President Joe Biden stood firm on Wednesday, defending his use of an autopen during his time in the White House and asserting that he was fully in charge of key decisions. "I made the decisions about pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion otherwise is absurd and baseless," Biden declared in a pointed statement.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has ignited a firestorm by ordering an investigation into Biden's administration. Trump alleges that senior officials may have used autopen signatures to mask Biden's supposed cognitive decline, raising questions about who truly wielded executive power. In a memo, Trump emphasized the immense authority tied to a president's signature, from shaping laws to appointing top officials. He called the potential misuse of an autopen "one of the most dangerous scandals in American history," suggesting it could undermine the legality of countless executive actions taken under Biden's name.

House Republicans, spearheaded by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, are diving headfirst into this controversy. They've launched an inquiry to determine if Biden, whose health reportedly declined in his final months in office, was mentally capable of authorizing autopen use. Comer hasn't ruled out hauling Biden before Congress for questioning, signaling that this probe is far from a mere formality.

Biden, in response, dismissed the investigation as a political stunt, accusing Trump and GOP lawmakers of distracting from their agenda to slash programs like Medicaid and push tax cuts for the wealthy. Whether this is a genuine constitutional crisis or a partisan skirmish, the battle over the autopen is shaping up to be a defining clash in an already polarized landscape.