The White House is conducting a formal investigation into former President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen during his time in office, senior administration officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. The probe, led by the White House Counsel’s Office in coordination with the Department of Justice, is focused on uncovering the extent to which Biden may have delegated executive authority through the mechanical signature device.
Officials stated that more than 27,000 documents from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) have already been reviewed, with expectations to examine up to one million documents.
“This has been a priority for the administration since the beginning,” one senior official said. “The president’s signature is one of the most important signatures in the world.”
The autopen, a mechanical device that mimics a person’s handwriting, was reportedly used by Biden to sign a range of official documents—including executive orders, pardons, and clemency orders. The investigation will examine whether Biden directly authorized these actions, or whether unelected staff used the device without his active oversight.
According to press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the Trump administration is “committed to finding the answers to the many outstanding questions the American people still have about how business in the Biden White House was conducted.”
Leavitt called the use of the autopen by Biden a “disservice” to the presidency, stating: “It has been widely reported that Joe Biden handed the power of the presidency to an autopen controlled by unelected leftist staffers.”
One area of concern involves Biden’s last-minute pardons, which included high-profile individuals like Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, and members of the House Jan. 6 Committee. Biden reportedly only signed one pardon—his son Hunter’s—by hand. Officials said they are specifically reviewing whether policies existed to safeguard autopen usage and ensure presidential intent.
In a New York Times interview, Biden defended his use of the device: “I made every decision on my own.” However, the Times reported Biden did not personally review each name in mass clemency orders, raising further questions about oversight.
Congressional committees, including the House Oversight Committee, have launched parallel investigations into both the use of the autopen and Biden’s mental acuity during his presidency. While officials acknowledged those efforts, they emphasized that the internal White House review remains independent.
The Trump administration has distanced itself from similar practices. Officials confirmed that former President Trump only used the autopen for ceremonial or personal correspondence—not official business. All executive orders under Trump were signed in person, they added.
In June, Trump issued a memo directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the use of the autopen under Biden and to assess whether it signaled cognitive decline in the former president.
“This is about restoring trust,” a senior official said. “The American people deserve to know whether they were governed by the president they elected—or by unelected staffers and a machine.”