At a press event on Tuesday, President Donald Trump suggested that a former top Justice Department official may have played a key role in the controversial use of President Joe Biden’s autopen for signing executive orders and pardons.
While speaking to reporters, Trump briefly named Lisa Monaco as a possible figure behind the practice. Monaco, who served as Deputy Attorney General during the Biden administration, was the second-highest-ranking official at the Justice Department. She is known for her expertise in counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and crisis management, and played a significant role in shaping federal responses to threats, including “domestic extremism.”
Trump’s mention of Monaco adds a new dimension to the growing scrutiny over Biden’s alleged overuse of the autopen. According to a report by The Washington Examiner, the Oversight Project—a watchdog group formerly affiliated with the Heritage Foundation—has uncovered evidence that Biden used the autopen on at least three occasions to sign executive actions, proclamations, and pardons. The report raises questions about the transparency and legality of those actions.
During a press event on Tuesday, President Donald Trump dropped a hint at the identity of a former high-ranking Justice Department official who was potentially behind former President Joe Biden’s autopen pardons and executive orders.
During a discussion with the media, Trump briefly mentioned Lisa Monaco as potentially being the person behind the autopen. Monaco is a former Deputy Attorney General who served within the Biden administration. This made her the second-highest-ranking official in the Justice Department during her time in office.
Over the course of her career, she’s become an expert in counterterrorism, cybersecurity, crisis management, and much more. Monaco was a big player in shaping our country’s response to terrorism, cyber threats, and, interestingly, “domestic extremism.”
Trump naming Monaco in the scandal represents another significant development in the discussion about the former president’s use of an autopen. A report from The Washington Examiner claims that Biden relied on this device to sign documents more often and under more questionable circumstances than we’ve been led to believe.
The article states that brand-new information from the Oversight Project, a watchdog group formerly affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, indicates that Biden used the autopen three times during his presidency to authorize executive actions, proclamations, and pardons.
Documents indicate that the former president allegedly used the device while physically present in Washington and signing other paperwork by hand. The Oversight Project’s president, Mike Howell, said during an appearance on “The Sean Hannity Show,” “We previously disclosed there were two autopen signatures. So, think about it as two versions of the same signatures, applied over and over again. Now today, we’ve discovered a third autopen signature that was used on proclamations.”
Before the latest discovery, Trump ordered the DOJ to investigate the autopen situation. Additionally, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is also looking into the matter. “We’ve listed the statutes that are implicated. They basically revolve around forgery, impersonation of a government official; in some instances, potentially bribery, because there is a lot of money flying around these issues,” Howell said during the interview.
He then said, “I think President Trump will ultimately waive executive privilege in this investigation so those officials cannot hide behind it. It’s going to be a lengthy legal battle.” Howell also said that the sources used by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson are going to have to be revealed.
“I’ve got news for Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. They are going to have to give up that information and those names,” Howell explained. “There is no right to hide sources in a criminal conspiracy. That is what we are talking about here.”
