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House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday condemned President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen to sign executive actions and pardons, calling the practice “insane” and arguing that every measure signed using the device should be voided.
Johnson spoke at the Capitol shortly after Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report detailing what they say are concerns about the president’s mental and physical fitness. He called the findings “an unprecedented situation in American politics and government.”
The 100-page document, titled “The Biden Autopen Presidency: Decline, Delusion, and Deception in the White House,” alleges that top aides acted without the president’s written consent while obscuring information about his health.
“The Oversight chairman, James Comer, released a blockbuster report now on the Biden autopen presidency,” Johnson said. “This report includes 47 hours’ worth of testimony revealing that every executive action signed by the autopen without written authorization from President Biden should be voided.”
Johnson, who previously practiced constitutional law, said there is “no legal precedent” for the scenario outlined in the report.
“Nothing this incredible and insane has happened before,” he said. “No previous president had the audacity to have people signing things on their behalf when they did not even know what was in it.”
The report accuses Biden’s advisers and his personal physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, of hiding signs of cognitive decline and enabling unauthorized actions via autopen. Comer called the findings “one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history” and urged the Justice Department to investigate aides who relied on the Fifth Amendment during interviews.
Comer also asked the D. C. Board of Medicine to review O’Connor for potential misconduct.
“The D.C. Board of Medicine must also review the actions taken by President Biden’s physician to hide his true condition. We have provided Americans with transparency about the Biden Autopen Presidency, and now there must be accountability,” Comer said in the statement released with the report.
Democrats dismissed the investigation as politically driven and said Republicans have not shown evidence that Biden was unaware of his decisions or that the autopen was misused.
