Trump Cancels Biden’s Last Minute Pardons After Finding Out What He Said Was an Error
US

Trump Cancels Biden’s Last Minute Pardons After Finding Out What He Said Was an Error

  • Donald Trump has claimed that pre-emptive pardons issued by Joe Biden to members of the January 6 Select Committee are invalid, alleging they were signed using an autopen without Biden's knowledge
  • Historical use of autopen by U.S. presidents and legal precedents challenge Trump's assertions, as pardons do not require personal signatures
  • Members of the committee have denied wrongdoing, dismissing Trump's accusations as baseless and politically motivated

Washington, D.C., USA – Former President Donald Trump has claimed that pre-emptive pardons issued by President Joe Biden to members of the January 6 Select Committee and others are "void, vacant, and of no further force or effect."

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump alleged that the pardons were signed using an autopen, a device that mechanically reproduces signatures, and suggested Biden was unaware of their issuance.

Trump Cancels Biden’s Last Minute Pardons After Finding Out What He Said Was an Error
Trump Cancels Biden’s Last Minute Pardons After Finding Out What He Said Was an Error
Source: Getty Images

Trump provided no evidence to support his claims.

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Historical use of autopen and legal precedents

The use of autopen by U.S. presidents is not unprecedented. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama have utilised the device for efficiency.

In 2013, Obama famously used an autopen to sign a congressional bill while on vacation. Legal precedents also indicate that a president is not required to personally sign pardons.

The U.S. Justice Department ruled in 1929 that the method of issuing pardons is at the president's discretion, and a federal appeals court recently confirmed that pardons do not even need to be in writing.

Biden's pre-emptive pardons and Trump's allegations

On his last day in office, Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to family members and members of the January 6 committee, including Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

Trump accused the committee members of orchestrating their own pardons without Biden's knowledge and claimed they were "subject to investigation at the highest level."

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Members of the committee have denied any wrongdoing, with Bennie Thompson, the committee's chair, dismissing Trump's accusations as baseless.

Reactions and broader implications

Trump's claims have sparked debate but remain unsubstantiated. Critics have pointed out that his allegations align with a pattern of targeting political opponents and government lawyers involved in investigations against him.

Meanwhile, other recipients of Biden's pardons, such as Anthony Fauci and retired General Mark Milley, have also faced criticism from Trump. Milley, who has publicly called Trump "a fascist to the core," expressed concerns about potential revenge actions.

Trump Cancels Biden’s Last Minute Pardons After Finding Out What He Said Was an Error
Trump Cancels Biden’s Last Minute Pardons After Finding Out What He Said Was an Error
Source: UGC

Trump revokes Joe Biden’s security clearance

Legit.ng earlier reported that the United States president, Donald Trump, has revoked his immediate predecessor Joe Biden’s security clearance and ended his intelligence briefings.

Trump announced this in a social media post on Friday, February 7, citing Biden’s own decision to do the same in 2021 after the January 6 Capitol attack.

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“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s security clearances, and stopping his daily intelligence briefings," Trump said.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Basit Jamiu avatar

Basit Jamiu (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Basit Jamiu is a journalist with more than five years of experience. He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ekiti State University (2018). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022), and Staff Writer at The Movee (2018). He is a 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. Email: basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.