In an interview with The New York Times, former President Joe Biden revealed that “assistants” were responsible for notifying Staff Secretary, Stefanie Feldman, who managed the autopen, as to his instructions. The instructions given and signed off on were a set of “standards” which guided the general use of the autopen.
Biden, in the interview published Sunday, further stated that he had “orally granted all the pardons and communications issued at the end of his term” and that he had his staff use an autopen replicating his signature on the clemency warrants because “we’re talking about a whole lot of people.”
In an attempt to reassure the Times reporter, Biden affirmed that “I made every decision” in reference to the 25 pardons and commutations for which the autopen was used during the last two months of his presidency.
Biden also addressed the more prominent pardons he made for figures such as his son, Hunter Biden, and COVID Czar Dr. Anthony Fauci. Biden admitted that he signed only one pardon with own hand from December to January. That it was for his son, Hunter, who Biden had repeatedly said he would not pardon.
Despite admitting to hand signing his own son’s pardon and making the decisions for 25 others in his final months in office, Biden provided very little information about how the autopen was used to reduce the sentences of nearly 4,000 federal convicts and commute 37 federal death sentences.
The reduced sentences can be traced back to four major sets of clemency actions that were recorded with an autopen. Three of the actions applied to broad categories of people, such as nonviolent drug offenders.
After specific names were added to each category by the Bureau of Prisons, in line with Biden’s guidelines. Then, the autopen, under Feldman’s management, was used to sign off on the lists and actions.
Towards the end of his administration, when Biden was granting clemency and pardons in large batches, he ceased personally approving each name. It's noted that, in one instance, small changes were made or names were added to the list, but Biden wasn’t notified about the adjustments. Instead, they were just made through the autopen.
These revelations, paired with recent concerns regarding Biden’s cognitive health during his presidency, has led to further controversy. Biden’s former White House doctor, who claimed at the time that his medical evaluations showed was Biden to serve, invoked the Fifth Amendment in order to avoid answering questions when he appeared before lawmakers on July 9, 2025.
The flagrant use of Biden’s autopen and the renewed concern about Biden’s cognitive health have been a popular topic of discussion for President Donald Trump, particularly on social media. For example, Trump shared his feelings on the matter in a TruthSocial post in May, stating that an unimpaired Biden would never have consented to some of the actions taken in his name:
Photo by: YouTube“It wasn’t his idea to Open the Border, and almost destroy our Country- It was the people that knew he was cognitively impaired, and that took over the Autopen. They stole the Presidency of the United States, and put us in Great Danger.
“This is TREASON at the Highest Level! They did it to destroy our Country. The Joe Biden that everybody knew would never allow drug dealers, gang members, and the mentally insane to come into our Country totally unchecked and unvetted. All anyone has to do is look up his record.
“Something very severe should happen to these Treasonous Thugs that wanted to destroy our Country- “