Donald Trump has repeatedly slammed Joe Biden’s use of an autopen during his presidency, going so far as to center its usage in a broad investigation Trump announced Wednesday into his predecessor.
But politicians on both sides of the aisle are deeply familiar with the tool. The autopen — also referred to as the robot pen — replicates an individual’s signature using a writing utensil, rather than a scanned and printed version of it. The tool, which resembles a small printer with a long arm that allows users to attach a pen to the center, has a long history of use in American politics.
The device was first patented in 1803, according to the Shapell Manuscript Foundation, an independent research organization that collects original manuscripts and historical documents. Iterations of the autopen have been used by presidents as far back as Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that “I could not, now therefore, live without” the device he used to duplicate letters.
“The Autopen has long been a tool for the world’s most influential leaders, allowing them to more effectively apply their time and attention to important issues without compromising the impact of personalized correspondence,” according to The Autopen Co., which sells the machines.
U.S. leaders on both sides of the aisle have used the autopen for decades — and have faced criticism for their use of the tool. During Lyndon Johnson’s administration, the autopen was featured in The National Enquirer for an article headlined “One of the Best Kept Secrets in Washington: The Robot That Sits In For The President.”
Even Trump himself has said he used autopens, but “only for very unimportant papers.”
“We may use it, as an example, to send some young person a letter because it’s nice,” Trump said in March, according to The Associated Press. “You know, we get thousands and thousands of letters, letters of support for young people, from people that aren’t feeling well, etcetera. But to sign pardons and all of the things that he signed with an autopen is disgraceful.”
In 2004, George W. Bush’s secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, faced criticism from some veterans for using an autopen to sign condolence letters to families of troops killed in the Iraq War.
In 2011, Barack Obama used an autopen to sign a Patriot Act extension — becoming the first known, apparent use of the tool by a president for legislation — and used it subsequently in his administration. The move resulted in Republicans questioning the constitutionality of Obama’s decision, though Bush’s Office of Legal Counsel, which is part of the Department of Justice, had already concluded the use of autopens was constitutional.
“The President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law,” the office’s 2005 ruling stated. “Rather, the President may sign a bill within the meaning of Article I, Section 7 by directing a subordinate to affix the President’s signature to such a bill, for example by autopen.”
There is no specific law governing a president’s use of an autopen. But the ruling from the Department of Justice hasn’t stopped Trump from accusing Biden and his team of illegally using the tool, alleging that Biden’s team used an autopen to sign documents without Biden’s permission or knowledge.
Trump has also claimed that Biden’s round of pardons — including “preemptive pardons” of Jan. 6 investigators, his son Hunter Biden and Anthony Fauci — were illegal and are “void” and “vacant.”
However, most legal scholars are in agreement that pardons cannot be overturned once granted. In 1869, a federal court ruled, “The law undoubtedly is, that when a pardon is complete, there is no power to revoke it, any more than there is power to revoke any other completed act.”
Biden has denied the claims that any decision was ever made or issued in his name without his approval or knowledge. Trump and other Republican accusers have provided no evidence that aides used an autopen without the former president’s approval.
“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” Biden told POLITICO in a statement. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false. 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.”