On Tuesday, House Republicans released a report criticizing former President Joe Biden's use of the autopen during his presidency. This report has been long anticipated and delivers a scathing overview of Biden's time in office, relying heavily on publicly available information while making serious accusations about the inner workings of his administration.
Although the report does not provide concrete evidence of any conspiracy among Biden's aides to make policy decisions without the president's knowledge, Republicans assert that their findings cast doubt on Biden's competence. They have urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to initiate a full investigation, echoing a similar request made by former President Donald Trump earlier this year.
The core argument of the report focuses on claims regarding Biden's mental acuity, suggesting it has declined to a point where officials could enact policies without his awareness. A significant portion of the report examines the pardons Biden granted during his presidency, particularly one involving his son, Hunter Biden. Republicans cite depositions from Biden's close aides to support their assertions.
The report claims that the “scheme to hide” Biden’s declining mental state has posed risks to national security and compromised public trust in leadership. Biden has denied these allegations, labeling them as “ridiculous and false.” Additionally, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have decried the investigation as a distraction and a misuse of resources.
At this politically charged moment—ten months into Trump’s presidency, amidst a government shutdown—Republicans are attempting to shift public focus back to Biden. House Speaker Mike Johnson has kept the House out of session for nearly a month, stalling public committee work and broader legislative action.
The report, largely compiled prior to the current government shutdown, draws conclusions based on interviews with over a dozen individuals from Biden's inner circle. However, it offers few novel insights and instead reiterates well-documented information, such as Biden's approval ratings and public gaffe occurrences. It claims a “cover-up of the president’s cognitive decline” orchestrated by Biden's closest advisers, taking particular issue with his physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, who has refused to testify by invoking the Fifth Amendment. Senior aides Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini are similarly criticized, with Republicans suggesting all three should be scrutinized further by the Justice Department.
In their report, Republicans have also contacted the D.C. Board of Medicine to advocate for disciplinary action against Dr. O'Connor, including potential revocation of his medical license. The report notably lacks full transcripts from the testimony sessions and criticizes Biden officials and Democratic allies for defending the president's mental capabilities.
The report describes the Biden White House's inner circle as having orchestrated “one of the largest scandals in American history” by concealing a president who may not be fully cognitively capable. It further alleges that inadequate record-keeping policies made it nearly impossible to trace the decision-making chain within the administration.
Despite the serious claims made in the report, Republicans do not provide specific examples that would demonstrate a failure in the chain of command or confirm that policies were enacted without Biden's authorization. They argue that any executive actions taken by Biden using the autopen lack validity unless there is proof of his approval. The report concludes that without evidence confirming Biden's consent for these actions, any autopen-related executive measures are deemed void.
Legal experts and Democratic voices caution that this broad scrutiny of executive actions could create future legal complications for both the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, particularly since they too have often utilized the autopen for policy decisions.
