Donald Trump Sends Warning To Enemies As He Says Biden Pardons Void
Story by Ewan Palmer, Newsweek, 3/17/25
President Donald Trump has said that Joe Biden’s 11th-hour pardons of members of Congress who investigated the January 6 attack are “void, vacant and of no further effect.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the pardons issued by his predecessor are not valid because they were allegedly signed using an autopen—a device that replicates a person’s signature.
Trump also warned members of the former January 6 House select committee that they would now be “subject to investigation at the highest level.”
Why It Matters
Biden issued last-minute preemptive pardons to members of the January 6 committee to prevent Trump from seeking “revenge” against them.
Trump repeatedly claimed that the January 6 committee, led by Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and former Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, “destroyed” evidence collected over the course of their two-year investigation. Trump has never provided evidence to support this claim.
Biden also issued preemptive pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and retired General Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who has been highly critical of Trump’s actions around the January 6 attack.
What to Know
Trump announced that Biden’s pardons are of “no further force or effect” in a social media post just after midnight on Monday.
Trump’s argument that Biden’s pardons are void due to his alleged use of an autopen follows similar claims made recently by the Oversight Project, an arm of the right-wing think tank behind Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation.
The group alleges that Biden used the same autopen signature on a number of official documents, including presidential pardons. Several Trump allies have reignited criticism of Biden’s apparent cognitive decline and questioned whether he personally approved the actions.
Autopens are machines designed to automatically replicate a handwritten signature. They have been used by numerous presidents and officials to sign large volumes of documents.
Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said “it’s not my decision” whether Biden’s pardons can be voided, and that it would ultimately be up to the courts.
In February 2024, a federal appeals court ruled that presidential pardons do not need to be in writing, stating that the “plain language of the Constitution imposes no such limit.”
On his first day back in office, Trump issued pardons and commutations to more than 1,500 people convicted for their roles in the January 6 attack.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT because they were done by Autopen. In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them, but more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two-year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!”
Guy Grossman, professor of global politics and international relations at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote on Bluesky: “If Trump voids Biden’s pardons, then the next Democratic president can void his pardons, exposing him and his cronies to criminal charges. This only makes sense if you are dumb or have no plans ever giving up power. Trump is not dumb.”
Mike Howell, the executive director of the Oversight Project, said in a statement on March 13: “Who ran the country the last four years? Our autopen investigation is uncovering a truth the world deserves to know. President Trump is absolutely right to call out this historic Biden autopen scandal. Several of former ‘President’ Joe Biden’s executive actions should be ripped apart as a result of his unconstitutional delegation of power. This is especially relevant when it comes to a lot of the ‘funky’ pardons that were handed out like candy to some of the biggest crooks this country has ever seen.”
President Joe Biden said in a January 20 statement: “The Select Committee fulfilled this mission with integrity and a commitment to discovering the truth. Rather than accept accountability, those who perpetrated the January 6th attack have taken every opportunity to undermine and intimidate those who participated in the Select Committee in an attempt to rewrite history, erase the stain of January 6th for partisan gain, and seek revenge, including by threatening criminal prosecutions.”
What Happens Next
It remains unclear whether any court will take steps to void Biden’s pardons over the autopen claims.
Trump’s comments suggest the Department of Justice may still seek to prosecute some of his biggest adversaries.