US President Donald Trump declared on Friday that he was invalidating decrees and documents signed by his predecessor, Joe Biden, using an automatic signature machine, raising questions about the legal implications of such claims.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated: "Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, (...) is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect."
The legality of Trump’s pronouncement remains unclear. It is uncertain whether he holds the authority to nullify documents signed by a former president or whether the use of an automatic signature device could legally invalidate them.
Trump has frequently criticised Biden’s alleged use of an autopen, a mechanised device that reproduces a person’s recorded signature. The tool is widely employed by the US government and businesses to sign numerous documents efficiently.
The Republican businessman described the use of the device as “one of the biggest scandals” in American history, claiming — without offering evidence — that Biden’s staff signed documents without Biden’s approval.
In June, Trump initiated an investigation, accusing Biden’s aides of conspiring to hide his cognitive decline and misuse his presidential authority. Biden dismissed these allegations as “ridiculous and false.”
On Friday, Trump asserted that “radical leftists surrounding Biden (…) took the Presidency away from him” by using the autopen and that anyone who used the machine did so illegally.
Trump further alleged that Biden was not involved in the autopen’s operations and warned that, should the former president claim otherwise, he would face charges of perjury.
