Trump declares Biden pardons of Jan. 6 Committee 'void' — and warns of prosecutions
President Donald Trump declared void the presidential pardons given to the House Select Committee that investigated the January 6th Capitol riots by President Joe Biden.
Writing on his Truth Social page, Trump became the first president in history to try to overturn pardons given by his predecessor.
"The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen," Trump wrote.
"In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime. Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level. The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!"
ALSO READ: 'Terrified': 'Shocking' new numbers seen as 'referendum on Trump's mishandling of economy'
As Snopes explains, presidents have long used assorted versions of the autopen since the early 19th Century and using such devices does not undermine the legitimacy of presidential signatures.
What's more, it is not at all clear that Biden used an autopen to sign his pardons, as comparisons of the signature used by the autopen and signatures that Biden personally placed on bills appear very similar.