There is a huge uproar in American politics these days over an old technology. President Donald Trump claimed that he will cancel all the documents that former President Joe Biden had signed with Autopen. Trump gave this information on his social platform Truth. Trump alleges that Autopen was run on someone else’s instructions and Biden himself did not sign many important orders.
He says that all these signatures done by the machine were done without Biden’s approval, hence these orders are illegal.
If Trump’s statement is accepted as true, then it could have a direct impact on Biden’s major executive orders that brought changes in the rules related to health services, environmental decisions and Artificial Intelligence (AI). So what is this Autopen, in whose name there is so much controversy? let’s understand
What is autopen?
Autopen is a robotic signature machine, which was patented in 1803. It can accurately copy a person’s real signature. Presidents and senior officials have been using it for decades to sign large-scale documents. The US Justice Department had clearly written in 2005 that instead of signing it himself, the President can make the bill a law through Autopen by instructing a subordinate.
Did previous presidents also use it?
Absolutely. Autopen is nothing new. Autopens have been in use in the White House since the early 1800s, starting with President Thomas Jefferson. Gerald Ford, Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy also adopted it. Barack Obama got important bills signed with this machine during his foreign trip. Trump himself admitted that he had also used Autopen on less important papers. History shows that this has been a normal and accepted procedure of the White House.
Why the uproar over Biden’s AutoPen use?
Trump and his supporters have been continuously claiming that many of Biden’s orders were not actually his signatures but were machine signatures and that too on someone else’s instructions. They say 92% of Biden’s orders were signed with autopens, which are illegal without Biden’s approval. However, so far no concrete evidence has emerged that the signatures were made without Biden’s consent. A Republican-led committee did release a report, but it did not contain any evidence that Biden was unaware of his policies or orders.
Can Trump really cancel Biden’s orders?
The President can withdraw the executive orders of his predecessor, this is legally possible. But withdrawing the pardon does not come under the jurisdiction of the President. Signatures made with autopen are fully legally valid, unless the President himself directs. Therefore, Trump’s announcement may be politically effective, but legally its limits are clear.
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