President Trump isn’t mincing words about Joe Biden’s twilight pardons. In a fiery Truth Social post, he dubbed the former president’s use of an autopen for last-minute clemency a “bigger scandal” that’s only growing. The controversy, tied to a leaked audio of Biden’s faltering interview with special counsel Robert Hur, has conservatives raising sharp questions.
The New York Post reported that Biden’s autopen signed pardons for House January 6th Committee members, including Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff, just before he left office.
The full five-hour audio of Biden’s October 8-9, 2024, interview with Robert Hur, released by Axios on October 12, 2024, shows him struggling with basic details while granting these contentious pardons. Trump claims this reveals a deeper Democratic cover-up of Biden’s cognitive decline.
The Heritage Foundation’s analysis confirmed the pardon documents bore autopen signatures. This automated signing method, used by presidents since Harry Truman, isn’t new, but its liberal use by Biden’s team has sparked outrage. Ex-Biden aides hinted to The Post that one staffer may have gone signature-happy in the administration’s final days.
Biden’s interview with Hur, conducted over two days, paints a troubling picture. He mixed up key dates, like claiming his son Beau was “deployed” or “dying” in 2017, when Beau passed away in 2015. Such errors fuel conservative arguments that Biden lacked the clarity to wield executive power responsibly.
“I’m a young man, so it’s not a problem,” Biden quipped during the interview, a line that lands like a bad joke given his stumbles.
He couldn’t recall the National Archives’ name or the term “fax machine,” leaning on White House counsels, including Bob Bauer, to bail him out. Conservatives see this as proof of a presidency propped up by handlers.
Biden’s tangents didn’t help his case. He rambled about firing a bow and arrow in Mongolia in 2011, boasting he was “not a bad archer.” While colorful, such asides distract from the serious issue: a president who seemed detached from critical details.
Special counsel Hur found Biden “willfully” kept classified materials at his private residences and Washington, DC, office. Biden’s inconsistent answers about sharing these with a ghostwriter for his 2017 memoir, “Promise Me, Dad,” suggest he kept them “just for posterity’s sake.” This cavalier attitude toward sensitive files alarms national security hawks.
Yet Hur declined to charge Biden, citing his image as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” This reasoning infuriates conservatives, who argue it’s a double standard—leniency for Biden while others face harsher scrutiny. Actions, it seems, don’t always have equal consequences.
Trump seized on the audio to blast Biden, Obama, and James Comey, accusing them of spying on his 2016 campaign. “Remember, it all began with DIRTY COP James Comey,” Trump wrote, tying Biden’s lapses to broader Democratic malfeasance. His base eats it up, but skeptics want harder evidence.
Trump’s team prided itself on a “far more restrictive” autopen policy, with only Will Scharf and Susie Wiles authorized to use it. This discipline contrasts with Biden’s apparent free-for-all, where it’s unclear how many signatures were automated. Conservatives argue this reflects a broader lack of accountability in Biden’s White House.
The pardons themselves, especially for Cheney and Schiff, are a lightning rod. Critics see them as a parting shot to shield allies from future scrutiny over the January committee’s work. To MAGA supporters, it’s less about justice and more about political score-settling.
Trump’s broader claims—that the 2020 election was “rigged” and he won by “millions of votes”—reignite old grievances. While these assertions rally his base, they risk alienating moderates who see them as unproven. The focus on Biden’s autopen might resonate more broadly if Trump sticks to the facts.
Hur’s interviews, joined by Marc Krickbaum, were meant to probe Biden’s handling of classified materials. “It’s obviously very important to answer our questions truthfully,” Hur stressed, urging Biden to focus. Yet Biden’s muddled responses and reliance on aides suggest a man overwhelmed by the task.
The autopen itself isn’t illegal—presidents have used it for decades—but its overuse in Biden’s final days raises ethical questions. Was it convenience or a deliberate dodge of accountability? Conservatives lean toward the latter, sensing a pattern of deflection.