A government watchdog has accused the Biden administration of using an autopen to sign nearly all of President Joe Biden’s executive orders, raising questions about who was truly making key decisions during his presidency. An autopen is an electromechanical device that replicates a person’s signature with precision. It can be used by high-ranking officials, including U.S. presidents, to sign large volumes of documents without their direct involvement. While it is legally recognized in certain instances, its use for signing critical legal documents—particularly without clear oversight—has raised concerns about authenticity and accountability.
According to a report from the Oversight Project, a branch of the Heritage Foundation, every document with Biden’s signature—except for the letter announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 race—appears to have been signed by an autopen. These findings have sparked renewed scrutiny of Biden’s cognitive condition and whether unelected officials were making decisions on his behalf. “WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE AUTOPEN CONTROLLED THE PRESIDENCY,” the Oversight Project declared on X, along with images comparing Biden’s signatures.
The watchdog claims that throughout Biden’s presidency, important executive actions—such as orders, pardons, and directives—were likely signed without his direct involvement. The controversy comes after Biden’s admission to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that he didn’t remember signing an executive order pausing LNG exports. Combined with the new findings, critics are raising concerns about whether Biden was fully in control during his presidency, or if key decisions were made by an unknown group of officials operating the autopen.
As pressure from Republicans and transparency advocates grows, there are increasing calls for Congress to investigate who had control over Biden’s presidential signings and whether the American public was misled about who was truly running the country. Last week, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether aides to former President Biden hid his cognitive decline in order to advance a far-left agenda.
In a public letter, Bailey claimed that many of Biden’s final policies are “legally void” and suggested that staffers may have exploited his condition to issue orders without his explicit approval. “By now, Biden’s mental decline is famous,” Bailey wrote to Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz. “Under the 25th Amendment, his inability to make decisions should have meant a succession of power.” He further claimed Biden’s staffers issued “aggressively much farther to the left” orders that should be invalid. “Who has been running the country for the last few years?” Bailey asked in his letter. “I fear that Mr. Biden… was a mere puppet for far-left, unelected staffers. The people deserve to know the truth.”
