DOJ Shelves Probe Into Biden Autopen Use
Prosecutors closed an autopen review after finding no legal basis to bring charges amid President Trump's demands for an investigation.
The Gateway PunditBREAKING REPORT: DOJ's Autopen Case Against Joe Biden and Aides Closed by Prosecutors in Pirro's DC US Attorney's Office | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila
PJ MediaThe Biden Autopen Probe Ends the Way So Many Others Do
NBC NewsDOJ quietly shelves Biden autopen investigation that Trump demanded
Daily BeastTrump Goons Launched Crackpot Bid to Lock Up Joe Biden
Overview
Federal prosecutors in U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office closed a criminal probe into whether President Joe Biden and his aides unlawfully used an autopen to issue pardons, a person briefed on the matter said.
The review began under Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin while he was interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and expanded after President Donald Trump in June demanded an investigation into alleged autopen use.
Prosecutors concluded they lacked a legal hook to bring charges and never presented the autopen case to a grand jury, sources said, while the White House referred inquiries to the Justice Department and Pirro's office declined to confirm probes.
The closed probe comes amid a broader effort that included an October House Oversight report calling some autopen-signed actions 'illegitimate' and President Trump saying in November that approximately 92% of Biden's signatures were autopen.
CBS News and a New York Times report said the matter was closed because prosecutors could not identify an applicable criminal statute, and it is unclear how often the autopen was used because there is no official government record, sources said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as an institutional failure to satisfy Trump's demands by using evaluative verbs ('falls apart') and phrases like 'increasing inability,' prioritizing examples of rejected cases (grand juries, judges) and stressing the department's inability to bring indictments, which pushes interpretation toward systemic breakdown rather than isolated legal rulings.
FAQ
An autopen is a mechanical device that reproduces a person's signature automatically on documents. Presidents commonly use it for routine signatures on executive orders, pardons, and other actions when manual signing is impractical.
