In response to growing concern over the cognitive fitness of former President Joe Biden, President Donald Trump is directing an investigation into Biden’s mental health and use of an autopen to carry out executive actions.
Trump issued an order directing his counsel, the attorney general, and heads of relevant executive agencies to investigate “whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden’s mental state.”
The president wants investigators to review any attempt by the Biden administration to shield the public from the former president’s mental and physical health and coordinate efforts by Biden aides to discredit video evidence of mental or physical decline.
In addition, Trump is asking whether an autopen was used to carry out executive actions, including executive orders, clemency grants, pardons, and presidential memoranda, and who directed the president’s signatures to be affixed to the documents.
Trump underscored the importance of a presidential signature, saying “the nation is governed through presidential signatures.”
An autopen is a device – its patent is centuries old – to place an individual's signature on documents or other surfaces. For example, a college president might use one for diplomas in lieu of signing hundreds or even thousands.
The investigative order says that in recent months, “it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of presidential signatures” by using the autopen.
The order from the president says, “This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”
The announcement of the investigation came hours after the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee said it is expanding its investigation into the “cover-up” of Biden’s “mental decline.”
U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., sent letters to five former senior Biden White House aides, “demanding they appear for transcribed interviews.”
Comer is seeking answers on the “potentially unauthorized issuance of sweeping pardons and other executive action.”
The investigation furthers the debate as to whether the pardons and actions could be voided. Like Trump, Comer calls for transparency, calling the “cover-up” a significant scandal in American history.
“The American people deserve full transparency and the House Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation to provide answers and accountability," Comer said. "The cover-up of President Biden’s mental decline is one of the greatest scandals in our nation’s history. These five former senior advisors were eyewitnesses to President Biden’s condition and operations within the Biden White House. They must appear before the House Oversight Committee and provide truthful answers about President Biden’s cognitive state and who was calling the shots."
The investigations have been fueled in part by a book written by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, "Original Sin," which the congressman quoted as claiming, “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board.”
Another book is due in the fall, this one written by former Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Entitled "Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines," the combative Biden staffer says she has left the Democratic Party and become an independent. The publisher of the book has promised a run through the three weeks leading up to Biden withdrawing from pursuit of reelection.
Biden and Trump debated on June 27 and the former president stepped out of the race on July 21.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are seated at the inauguration ceremonies of President Donald Trump.
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
