Trump claims Biden pardons of his opponents are void

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump declared on Monday he was annulling pardons issued by Joe Biden to shield Trump critics from retribution, claiming that they were invalid because his Democratic predecessor had supposedly used an autopen for his signature.

It was unclear what, if any, authority Trump has to void presidential pardons issued by his predecessor. It is extremely rare for pardons to be revoked in US history, and doing so in this case could see Trump again testing the limits of executive power as he takes aim at his political enemies.

Trump claimed that Biden´s signature on the documents had been carried out with an autopen, a commonly used device, and therefore was not valid. The pardons “are hereby declared void, vacant, and of no further force or effect, because of the fact they were done by Autopen,” Trump posted on his social media account Truth Social. However, he provided no evidence either for the use of an autopen or his contention that it would invalidate the signature.

US presidents have long used autopens, including to sign bills into law. But Trump and his supporters, such as those linked to the right-wing policy document Project 2025, have sought to turn the issue into a way to delegitimize Biden´s presidency.

Biden issued pardons to former senior Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney and other members of the congressional committee that had investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump´s supporters and multiple attempts by Trump to overturn the 2020 election in which he lost.

The Biden pardons, issued at the end of his presidency, were effectively a blanket immunity to shield the lawmakers from Trump´s repeated promises that he would take revenge against them if he won the 2024 election.

Trump appeared to acknowledge that his action entered disputed legal territory. Asked by reporters early Monday whether everything Biden signed with an autopen should be voided, Trump said “I think so. It´s not my decision, that´ll be up to a court.” But he said on Truth Social that the committee members “should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.”

Experts who spoke to Axios media outlet pointed out that even if Trump were to lose a court challenge over the move, the damage would already have been done, with those he targets being dragged into stressful legal battles.

Biden also issued preemptive pardons to former Covid pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci, retired general Mark Milley, and -- perhaps most controversially -- to close family members including his son Hunter. All of them had become public targets of the incoming Republican president.

Trump has repeatedly promised “retribution” against his political opponents and threatened some with criminal prosecution, and Biden said at the time that he could not “in good conscience do nothing.”

On taking office this January, Trump immediately issued multiple pardons to supporters, including to about 1,500 people convicted in the storming of the Capitol building in an attempt to block certification of Biden´s election victory on January 6, 2021.