In the final hours of President Joe Biden’s term, his chief of staff Jeff Zients gave the green light for the use of an autopen to sign off on a series of high-profile pardons—raising new questions about who made the final decisions in the White House, The New York Times reported.
According to emails reviewed by the outlet, Zients wrote, “I approve the use of the autopen for the execution of all of the following pardons,” shortly after a late-night meeting on January 19, Biden’s last full day in office.
The revelation has added fuel to an ongoing controversy, as critics—including President Donald Trump—accuse the Biden administration of bypassing proper presidential authority and covering up signs of Biden’s cognitive decline.
Autopen Approvals Spark Fresh Scrutiny
The pardons in question included preemptive clemency for figures like Dr. Anthony Fauci and Gen. Mark Milley. The White House maintains Biden was involved in setting the criteria for the clemency decisions but did not personally approve every name.
While aides say Biden attended a meeting to finalize the standards, the actual authorization to sign the pardons using the autopen reportedly came from Zients.
Emails cited in the Times show that at 10:03 p.m., a summary of the finalized pardon decisions was sent to Zients’ assistant, followed by a request for formal approval at 10:28 p.m. Zients responded just minutes later, granting permission to use the autopen.
A White House official declined to comment directly on Zients’ role when reached by Fox News Digital.
Trump: ‘He Didn’t Know What He Was Signing’
President Trump, who has accused Biden of improperly delegating the use of presidential powers, reacted strongly to the report.
“This could be one of the biggest scandals in decades,” Trump said Monday. “I guarantee you he didn’t know what he was signing.”
The former president has argued that thousands of clemency documents signed by autopen under Biden should be declared invalid. In June, Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch an investigation into whether the use of the autopen was meant to mask a decline in Biden’s mental faculties.
“This was an abuse of executive power orchestrated by Biden’s aides while the American people were left in the dark,” Trump said in a memo last month.
White House Pushback and Political Fallout
In a statement to Fox News, Trump spokesman Harrison Fields accused the Biden administration of running “the most egregious cover-up scheme in American political history.”
He added, “The same president who misled the public for four years—from his physical condition to the state of the economy—can’t be trusted again. The truth will come out about who was actually running the country.”
The Pew Research Center reports that Biden issued over 4,200 clemency actions during his presidency—96% of them in his final four months. That surge has drawn additional attention to how those decisions were made, and by whom.
What Is an Autopen?
An autopen is a mechanical device that mimics a person’s signature using a real pen. Unlike a stamp or printed signature, it physically recreates a pre-programmed version of the person’s handwriting and can use different writing instruments, such as ballpoints or markers.
While past presidents have used autopens for ceremonial correspondence or informal notes, critics argue that Biden’s use crossed the line into constitutional overreach—especially when it came to legally binding documents.
Trump’s team says he personally hand-signs all legally binding or executive documents, though he has acknowledged using autopens for personal letters.
The controversy over Biden’s final-day pardons is now at the center of a broader investigation into his administration’s use of executive authority—and could remain a political flashpoint in the months ahead.
