Joe Biden denies autopen was used without his knowledge

Former President Joseph R. Biden issued a rare public statement Thursday denying claims that his top aides were making key decisions and using the autopen to sign orders and pardons without his knowledge.

Hours earlier, President Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate whether White House staff were essentially running the country and signing executive orders and pardons using the autopen, a machine that replicates signatures.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” said Mr. Biden, 82. “I made the decisions about pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump called for Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Counsel David Warrington to investigate “whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President.”

A new bombshell book about the Biden presidency, written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson, describes the recollections of dozens of mostly anonymous former Biden aides who said Mr. Biden was only available to work a few hours a day.

“Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board,” one aide recalls, according to the book.

Mr. Trump said the validity of Mr. Biden’s actions could be questioned if it turns out aides acted in his place.

Mr. Biden issued thousands of pardons and commutations, many of them during his final days in office.

The Oversight Project, a government watchdog group, examined 51 clemency warrants bearing Mr. Biden’s signature. The warrants granted clemency to 4,245 people, a record for any U.S. president.

More than half of the warrants issued during Mr. Biden’s administration, the Oversight Project found, were signed by one of two autopen signatures.