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President Donald Trump said Friday he is canceling all executive orders and other documents he claims were signed by former President Joe Biden using an autopen, ramping up his long-running attacks on Biden’s official actions.
“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him. I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally. Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.
The autopen mechanically reproduces a person’s signature with a real pen based on a stored template. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has previously affirmed that presidents may legally use an autopen to sign legislation and executive actions, provided the president authorizes the use.
President Trump claimed Biden did not give such authorization and threatened to accuse him of perjury if he says he approved the autopen process.
During Biden’s presidency, he issued 162 executive orders along with hundreds of memoranda, proclamations and notices. Trump rescinded nearly 80 Biden-era orders in January, but several major policies remain in effect, including Executive Order 14087 on lowering prescription drug costs, Executive Order 14096 on environmental justice, and Executive Order 14110 governing artificial intelligence. The president suggested on Friday that these and other actions may now be “subject to cancellation.”
The president did not say who would review Biden-era documents or authenticate signatures. The issue comes as President Trump has renewed criticism of Biden’s use of the autopen, calling for an investigation and accusing his predecessor of delegating important executive actions improperly.
“It is unclear who will validate the signatures on documents allegedly signed by Biden,” the administration said in a brief statement Friday.
