Context:

In a New York Times interview, former President Joe Biden defended his use of an autopen for mass clemency decisions during his final weeks in office, where more than 1,500 individuals were pardoned. Biden asserted that he personally made all clemency decisions, though he acknowledged that aides used an autopen to sign the documents to avoid repetitive resigning of updated documents. This practice has been criticized by Republicans, including Donald Trump, who questioned its appropriateness and suggested it concealed Biden's cognitive decline. Despite acknowledging the use of an autopen, Biden stressed that he set the criteria for pardons, which were then applied by his staff. The controversy sparked investigations into whether the autopen use was appropriate and if it indicated any decline in Biden's mental capacity during his presidency.

Dive Deeper:

• Joe Biden defended his use of an autopen in a New York Times interview, explaining that he made all clemency decisions himself, while aides used the autopen to avoid repeatedly signing updated documents.

• During the final weeks of his presidency, Biden granted clemency to over 1,500 individuals, marking the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president, which he justified as adhering to set criteria rather than individually approving each name.

• Republicans, including Donald Trump, criticized the use of the autopen, suggesting it was used to hide a decline in Biden's cognitive abilities and asserting that it marked a significant scandal by obscuring who wielded executive power.

• Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate the autopen's usage, questioning the appropriateness of its deployment on a large number of official documents during Biden's administration.

• Despite criticism, Biden maintained that the use of the autopen was a practical solution to streamline the signing of numerous documents, emphasizing that he established the standards for pardons which his staff then applied.