In a controversial move on Monday, President Donald Trump announced that he had annulled preventative pardons issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden, to members of Congress who had played a key role in investigating Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
However, it remains unclear whether Trump has any legal authority to invalidate presidential pardons granted by Biden.
Trump’s primary argument centers on the claim that Biden’s pardons were signed using an autopen—a device commonly used to replicate signatures. Without providing any supporting evidence, Trump insisted that such a method rendered the pardons invalid.
“The pardons are hereby declared void, vacant, and of no further force or effect, because of the fact they were done by autopen,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The Biden administration had issued these pardons, which covered former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney and other lawmakers involved in the congressional investigation of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
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These pardons effectively shielded them from any potential retaliatory legal actions that Trump had repeatedly suggested he would pursue if re-elected.
Trump appeared to acknowledge the uncertain legal footing of his decision. When asked whether all documents signed by Biden’s autopen should be considered invalid, Trump responded, “I think so. It’s not my decision, that’ll be up to a court.”
However, he also warned that the committee members should “fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.”
Biden’s pardons extended beyond lawmakers, also covering individuals who had become frequent targets of Trump’s rhetoric. These included former COVID-19 advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, and, controversially, Biden’s own son, Hunter Biden.
At the time, Biden justified his actions by stating he could not “in good conscience do nothing” in the face of Trump’s repeated threats of retribution.
Upon returning to office in January, Trump wasted no time in exercising his own pardon powers, granting clemency to numerous allies. Among them were approximately 1,500 individuals convicted for their involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot, an event that sought to disrupt the certification of Biden’s election victory.
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