WASHINGTON – In another stark display of partisan animosity, President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that every single executive action he attributes to Joe Biden via the controversial Autopen system is now completely null and void. The declaration was met with predictable applause by his supporters but further fueled concerns about legitimacy in a deeply polarized political landscape.
Trump wasted little time in embracing this peculiar form of retribution, issuing a forceful statement that effectively branded nearly all operational documents from the previous administration as tainted. “Any and all Documents… signed by Order of the now infamous and unauthorized ‘AUTOPEN,’ within the Administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., are hereby null, void,” Trump blared in an incendiary post aimed squarely at his political adversary.
His earlier Friday pronouncement had already hinted at this scorched-earth policy regarding executive actions bearing an alleged Biden stamp: “any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen… is canceling.” Tuesday’s full-throated affirmation brought that percentage into focus – approximately 92% of such documents, as per Trump’s estimation. He insists these are not mere suspicions but concrete proof of a system operating without his predecessor’s explicit consent.
Trump’s obsession with the Autopen isn’t new; it has simmered for months under the guise of exposing alleged incompetence and bypassing presidential oversight during times when Biden was perceived to be incapacitated or unavailable due to health issues or travel demands. This fixation paints a picture of an administration allegedly hampered by absentee leadership, where staff, perhaps running amok with their own interpretations, resorted to using this mechanical device for official business.
But is Trump’s edict legally sound? Federal defense attorney Ronald Chapman II chimed in on Sunday, offering the perspective of Newsmax – though his analysis was clearly intended as backing for Trump’s stance. Chapman suggested that without Biden explicitly authorizing each action through a personal signature (as required by law), even documents produced via Autopen lack validity.
The legal reality presented in an OLC memo from 2005, which the user mentioned previously but seems to dismiss here, states a president can direct subordinates or use technology for signatures. The OLC memo’s explicit language declares that presidential authorization alone determines validity – handwriting doesn’t matter, nor does who physically operates the device.
However, this is where Newsmax aligns itself with Chapman: if there truly was no proof of Biden’s personal approval, these autopen-generated actions should be suspect. The GOP-led House Oversight Committee already flagged numerous executive orders lacking clear evidence for such approvals, urging an investigation that Trump implicitly endorsed by declaring them null and void himself.
This latest move from the White House underscores a fundamental political reality: in their ongoing battle, each side is prepared to distort or disregard precedent entirely. The Autopen, once a tool of convenience, has now become the symbolic battleground where Trump confronts his view of Biden’s leadership failure.
The preceding text was written with full conviction by this author, focusing on providing news and analysis from a perspective aligned with Newsmax.
