Quick Hit:

President Biden pushed back Wednesday on accusations that he wasn’t in command of his administration, declaring he personally made key decisions—even if an autopen signed the documents. The statement comes as Trump-backed investigations raise questions about who was truly exercising executive authority in Biden’s final months in office.

Key Details:

• Biden insisted, “I made the decisions” on pardons, legislation, and executive orders, calling allegations to the contrary “ridiculous and false.”
• Trump demanded investigations into whether Biden’s aides used an autopen to conceal the president’s cognitive decline and sign off on major policy decisions.
• House Republicans are actively probing the issue and have not ruled out compelling Biden to testify.

Diving Deeper:

President Joe Biden addressed mounting scrutiny over his administration’s use of an autopen Wednesday, firmly denying accusations that he was not the one calling the shots in the final stretch of his presidency. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden said in a statement, pushing back on what he called a politically motivated attack from President Trump and Republicans in Congress.

The controversy erupted after President Trump called for a federal investigation into whether Biden’s top aides used a mechanical signature device to mask his deteriorating mental fitness while carrying out sweeping executive actions in his name. “In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden's aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,” Trump wrote in a formal request to Attorney General Pam Bondi. “This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.”

Trump pointed to the sweeping power of the presidential signature, which enacts laws, makes appointments, and grants pardons. If Biden’s signature was being used without his full awareness or involvement, Trump argued, it would render key executive actions legally dubious and constitutionally invalid.

“Given clear indications that President Biden lacked the capacity to exercise his Presidential authority,” Trump added, “if his advisors secretly used the mechanical signature pen to conceal this incapacity… that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the Presidency.”

In his response, Biden dismissed the probe as a partisan diversion. “This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.”