Biden Confirms He Granted Staff Permission to Use Autopen, ‘Granted Clemency to So Many People’

In a recent interview with The New York Times, former President Joe Biden mentioned his administration’s use of the autopen for signing clemency documents, citing the volume of cases as the primary reason. “I had granted clemency to so many people,” Biden told the Times, confirming that he gave staff permission to use the device.

Biden’s remarks are the first time he has addressed Republican-led investigations into whether he personally signed off on the use of the autopen for official documents. The former president maintained that he was directly involved in all clemency decisions at the end of his term, even if he did not physically sign each one. “We’re talking about a whole lot of people,” he said.

From December 2024 to January 2025, the autopen was used in 25 instances of pardons and commutations. “I made every decision,” Biden told the Times. The Daily Caller News Foundation reports that among those clemency decisions were high-profile figures, including members of Biden’s own family, Gen. Mark A. Milley, and Dr. Anthony Fauci. The only document he physically signed during that period was a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden. He said he personally discussed each significant case with his aides. “Everybody knows how vindictive he is, so we knew that they’d do what they’re doing now,” Biden said, referring to President Donald Trump. He explained that one motivation for streamlining the process was to protect his family from burdensome legal expenses. “I consciously made all those decisions,” he added.

The New York Times reviewed a collection of emails handed over to the Department of Justice and the Trump administration as part of the inquiry into autopen use. While the outlet did not have access to every email between November 2024 and January 20, 2025, it examined dozens that revealed a formal process for obtaining Biden’s verbal approval. According to the Times, the autopen was handled by staff secretary Stefanie Feldman, and aides documented meetings where Biden authorized its use.

One notable meeting on January 19, 2025, took place in the Yellow Oval Room and reportedly lasted until nearly 10 p.m. “At the Jan. 19 meeting, which took place in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House residence, Mr. Biden kept his aides until nearly 10 p.m. to talk through such decisions, according to people familiar with the matter,” the Times reported.

The newspaper detailed a series of internal communications confirming the process. “The emails show that an aide to Mr. Siskel sent a draft summary of Mr. Biden’s decisions at that meeting to an assistant to Mr. Zients, copying Mr. Siskel, at 10:03 p.m. The assistant forwarded it to Mr. Reed and Mr. Zients, asking for their approval, and then sent a final version to Ms. Feldman — copying many meeting participants and aides — at 10:28 p.m,” the article stated.

“Three minutes later, Mr. Zients hit ‘reply all’ and wrote, ‘I approve the use of the autopen for the execution of all of the following pardons,’” the report continued.

As the administration neared its conclusion, Biden no longer personally vetted each individual clemency case but instead approved general criteria and policy guidelines for his staff to follow.

According to the Times, any related public communications still required his sign-off, and he even requested a minor revision to a press release. In other cases, the final list was slightly adjusted without Biden being notified of each change, though aides said this practice had been routine.