President Donald Trump has just dropped a bombshell by revoking every autopen-signed executive order and pardon from former President Joe Biden’s tenure, igniting a firestorm over the potential prosecution of Anthony Fauci.
According to the Daily Mail, this unprecedented move targets a slew of Biden’s actions, including a pardon for Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, issued on Jan. 20, 2025, right before Trump reclaimed the Oval Office.
Trump’s argument is razor-sharp: autopen signatures, which replicate a president’s handwriting mechanically, lack authenticity, especially amid concerns over Biden’s cognitive capacity.
Biden, for his part, insists he personally authorized every autopen-signed pardon and commutation, including those for Fauci, General Mark Milley, and January 6 committee members, alongside family members like Hunter Biden—the only hand-signed pardon in his final months.
Yet, Trump isn’t buying it, and neither are many conservatives who see this as a chance to revisit old grudges, particularly against Fauci for his role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The autopen isn’t new—both Republican and Democratic presidents, including Trump, have used it, though Trump claims he reserved it for minor documents, not weighty matters like pardons.
With the revocation of autopen pardons, Republicans are chomping at the bit, arguing Fauci could now face prosecution for alleged missteps during the pandemic, a sentiment echoed loudly across conservative circles.
Senator Rand Paul has already referred Fauci for criminal charges, alleging he misled Congress about gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, a claim bolstered by some U.S. intelligence agencies like the FBI and CIA, which suggest the SARS-CoV-2 virus might have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Marjorie Taylor Greene didn’t mince words on X, declaring, “If autopen pardons are repealed, then prosecute Fauci for crimes against humanity,” a statement that captures the raw frustration many feel, though it begs the question of whether such charges could stick in court.
Legal scholars, however, are throwing cold water on the idea that Trump can undo already-accepted pardons, noting that the Constitution grants presidents broad, unilateral authority to issue clemency without explicitly requiring a physical signature.
Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley put it bluntly, stating that if Trump challenges these autopen pardons in court, his chances of succeeding would be “vanishingly low,” a sobering reminder that passion doesn’t always align with precedent.
Still, Trump is pressing forward, even threatening Biden with perjury charges for allegedly lying about his involvement in the autopen process, a move that feels more like political theater than a courtroom slam dunk.
Adding fuel to the fire, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee has called for the Justice Department to scrutinize every executive order Biden issued in his last month, releasing a report that paints a damning picture of a “flawed process” in the Biden White House.
The report goes further, alleging Biden’s aides orchestrated a cover-up of the president’s declining faculties, likening the situation to a “presidential pardon game of telephone”—a witty jab that nonetheless raises serious questions about transparency and accountability in those final days.
