Joe Biden accused of using 'Autopen Signature' on key White House documents, sparks political uproar

The former U.S. President Joe Biden has been accused of using an autopen machine to sign official documents when he was in office. The allegations were made by the Oversight Project, which is a department of the conservative Heritage Foundation. In their report, they said that several documents signed by Biden were not hand-signed but were written with the help of an autopen machine.

What is an autopen signature?

An autopen is a device that reproduces someone's signature mechanically, frequently utilized for signing bulk documents. The Oversight Project posted screenshots of various documents signed by Biden, including two executive orders in August 2022 and December 2024. They also pointed to a letter dated July 2024, in which Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

Same signatures cause doubts

The report further noted that the executive orders had the same signatures, while the withdrawal letter of Biden had a different signature. The Oversight Project said, "We gathered each document signed by Biden as president, and they all had the same autopen signature—except for the letter announcing his withdrawal from the race."

Analysis of more than 20 documents

Fox News independently analyzed more than 20 executive orders signed by Biden between 2021 and 2024 and discovered the same signatures on all documents. Nevertheless, their investigation also uncovered that former President Donald Trump had employed an autopen for some documents. Former President Barack Obama was the first to use an autopen for legislative documents historically.

Although the claims, the deployment of an autopen during Biden's time was said to be uncommon. The White House made sure that he himself signed major legislative acts, including the Ukraine aid package worth $40 billion and the 2022 bill averting a government shutdown.

Legal and political consequences

Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has called on the Justice Department to probe whether Biden's mental faculties enabled his aides to carry out policies without direct approval from him. 

The scandal has revived questions about Biden's mental competence, a topic that picked up steam following his dismal performance during the June 2024 presidential debate. Critics pointed to several gaffes, such as former President Obama helping him off the stage and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni leading him back to a group of global leaders at the G7 summit. After the controversy, even fellow members of Biden's party complained, forcing him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential campaign. The incident has raised new questions about his decision-making skills, which could prove to be a major issue in future elections.