Biden defends autopen use for clemency actions amid Republican criticism

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Former President Joe Biden defended his use of an autopen throughout a latest interview, shedding mild on his administration's rationale for the controversial use of the know-how.

The interview with the New York Occasions was centered round his use of an autopen over the past pardons that he made through the finish of his administration.

In his last weeks in workplace, Biden granted clemency and pardoned greater than 1,500 people, in what the White Home described on the time as the biggest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president.

Talking to the Occasions on Thursday, Biden stated that he "made each determination" on his personal.

HERE ARE BIDEN'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL PARDONS, WITH MOST SIGNED USING AUTOPEN

In his last weeks in workplace, President Joe Biden granted clemency and pardoned greater than 1,500 people. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures)

"We’re speaking about [granting clemency to] a complete lot of individuals," the Democrat stated.

Nevertheless, the Occasions reported that Biden "didn't individually approve every title for the explicit pardons that utilized to massive numbers of individuals," in response to the previous president and his aides.

"Somewhat, after intensive dialogue of various doable standards, [Biden] signed off on the requirements he needed for use to find out which convicts would qualify for a discount in sentence," the Occasions's report learn.

As a substitute of repeatedly asking the president to resign up to date variations of official paperwork, his workers used an autopen to place Biden's signature on the ultimate model.

Biden's feedback got here as Republicans attacked him for his autopen use on a large variety of official paperwork.

In June, President Donald Trump despatched a memo to the Division of Justice directing Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi to analyze the autopen use, and to find out whether or not it was associated to a decline in Biden's psychological state.

U.S. President Joe Biden yells out to the press whereas departing the 102nd Nationwide Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Ellipse on Dec. 5, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Pictures)

BIDEN ONLY HAND-SIGNED ONE PARDON DURING FINAL SPREE, AND IT WAS HIS MOST CONTROVERSIAL ONE

"In latest months, it has grow to be more and more obvious that former President Biden's aides abused the ability of Presidential signatures by means of using an autopen to hide Biden's cognitive decline and assert Article II authority," Trump wrote.

"This conspiracy marks one of the harmful and regarding scandals in American historical past. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the chief energy, all whereas Biden's signature was deployed throughout hundreds of paperwork to impact radical coverage shifts."

Additionally in June, Trump advised reporters that he thought it was "inappropriate" to make use of an autopen in any respect, although previous presidents have used them.

"Often, once they put paperwork in entrance of you, they're essential," Trump stated. "Even when you're signing ambassadorships or – and I contemplate that essential, I believe it is inappropriate."

President Joe Biden's use of an autopen has been criticized by Republicans. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Pictures)

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"You will have any individual that is devoting 4 years of their life or extra to being an envoy. I believe you actually deserve that particular person deserves to get an actual signature… not an autopen signature."