Former President Donald Trump has ignited a fresh political firestorm by declaring he has revoked all autopen-signed executive orders and pardons issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden. This unprecedented move has triggered immediate demands from prominent right-wing figures to bring criminal charges against Dr Anthony Fauci, who was among those pardoned by Biden.
The Pardon Controversy and Political Backlash
In the final days of his presidency, Joe Biden utilised an autopen device to sign a series of pardons. This list included Dr Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who served for nearly four decades. Also pardoned were General Mark Milley, members of the January 6 committee, and several of Biden's own family members.
Donald Trump has long argued that autopen signatures lack authenticity, a position he has now acted upon. He contends that the device should be reserved for insignificant paperwork and never for weighty matters like pardons. Seizing on this, Republicans are now voicing their belief that the revocation of these pardons opens the door to prosecuting Fauci for his alleged actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leading the charge was Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. She took to X on Friday, stating, 'if autopen pardons are repealed then prosecute Fauci for crimes against humanity.' Her office was subsequently approached by The Daily Mail for further comment.
Wider Calls for Accountability and Legal Questions
The demands for prosecution were echoed by other conservative voices. Nicolas Hulscher, an epidemiologist affiliated with the McCullough Foundation, declared it was 'time to PROSECUTE Anthony Fauci.' It is worth noting that the McCullough Foundation has been associated with spreading the unsubstantiated claim that vaccines are a leading cause of autism.
Further fuel was added by references on X to Senator Rand Paul, who has previously referred Fauci for criminal charges. The senator alleges that Fauci lied to Congress about gain-of-function research connected to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. This allegation persists despite Fauci's consistent denials.
The legal foundation for Trump's action, however, is highly questionable. Constitutional scholars widely agree that a president does not possess the authority to overturn clemency that has already been granted and accepted. The Constitution bestows broad, unilateral power to issue pardons, and it contains no stipulation that such documents must be physically signed by the president's own hand.
Jonathan Turley, a renowned constitutional scholar, remarked in March that if Trump were to challenge Biden's autopen pardons in court, his chances of success would be 'vanishingly low.'
A Personal Threat and a Flawed Process
Trump's threats extended beyond those who received pardons to President Biden himself. On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, 'Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.' Biden, for his part, has asserted that he personally authorised every single pardon and commutation where the autopen was used.
The controversy also prompted scrutiny from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee. Last month, it requested the Justice Department review all of Biden's executive orders, releasing a report that described a deeply 'flawed process' and accused Biden's aides of coordinating a 'cover-up of the president's diminishing faculties.'
In a revealing detail, Biden's only hand-signed pardon during his final months in office was for his son, Hunter. In contrast, the 162 executive orders he signed included the autopen-signed pardons for Fauci, Milley, and others, highlighting the exceptional nature of the manual signature for his family member.
