The autopen is a device used to replicate a person's signature with precision, typically for high-volume or ceremonial documents. It has been employed by presidents of both major parties to sign letters and proclamations. Trump and his supporters have made a variety of unfounded claims that Biden's use of the device while president invalidated his actions or suggested that he was not fully aware of these actions.
Yes, numerous presidents have used the autopen, dating back to Thomas Jefferson, who used an early version of the device, according to the Shappell Manuscript Foundation. Harry Truman was rumoured to have used the pen, as well as Gerald Ford and Lyndon B Johnson, who allowed the device to be photographed in the White House. Other presidents include John F Kennedy as well as Barack Obama, who used the device to sign various legislation including the Patriot Act and an appropriations bill while overseas.
The GOP report does not include any concrete evidence that aides conspired to enact policies without Biden's knowledge or that the president was unaware of laws, pardons or executive orders signed in his name. But Republicans said their findings cast doubt on all of the Democrat's actions in office. They sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging a full investigation. Republican President Donald Trump ordered a similar inquiry earlier this year.
President Donald Trump has teased that he was going to hang an official picture of the autopen to mock his Democratic successor and predecessor, and that joke came to reality on Wednesday, with White House Communications Advisor Margo Martin posting a video on X of several presidential portraits lining the West Wing Colonnade. The video pans across pictures of George W. Bush and Barack Obama,
