Comer Discusses Biden Autopen Use and Trump’s Executive Order
During a recent segment on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, suggested that their investigation into the autopen usage during Biden’s administration could lead to a court supporting President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke an executive order that was not signed personally by Biden.
Earlier that same day, Trump announced his own executive order to annul a previous one that Biden had not physically signed.
Guest host Jason Chafetz remarked, “Putting aside public law signatures, looking at the big picture, it appears the president used an autopen 88% of the time over a four-year span. That’s concerning, and it involves unauthorized personnel. President Biden spoke publicly about this being related to those receiving pardons for non-violent crimes. However, some individuals who were released or sentenced to death were actually involved in violent crimes, including murder. That contradicts what the president stated publicly. Did he really give his endorsement for this?”
Comer responded, “Yes, so far we’ve found no evidence apart from our last witness, Jeff Zients. I’m quite certain Zients communicated with everyone else we interviewed. He was aware of the inquiries we were making. None of them claimed, ‘Yes, Joe Biden directed me to sign this document.’ No one asserted they discussed this executive order in a meeting with Biden or talked about pardoning anyone. Only Zients, our final witness, could potentially relate to that, but we hadn’t invited Biden himself. Many think she (referring to another individual) made several decisions. The crux is that Joe Biden wasn’t part of this process.”
He continued, “The Constitution is definitive on this matter. Only the President of the United States has the authority to issue pardons. The Vice President, Chief of Staff, and even the First Lady lack that power. I commend President Trump for his actions today. I anticipate this will eventually be contested in court, but our investigative work and the report from the House Oversight Committee will serve as the foundation for evidence to support our case and help President Trump reinforce this executive order.”
