GOP bill would ban use of autopen to sign pardons after Trump deems Biden's 'void'

Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., will introduce the Signature Integrity for Granting National Pardons (SIGN) Act on Friday, shared first with Fox News Digital, to require that a sitting president personally sign any pardon or reprieve, prohibiting the use of a mechanical-signed signature, such as the autopen.

"Biden's use of an autopen should automatically void his presidential pardons," Carter told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The SIGN Pardons Act will restore the integrity of this important role in our justice system, ensuring that all pardons are physically signed by the Commander-in-Chief."

"This irresponsible use of technology raises questions about who was really running the country during Biden's term," Carter added. "If Biden outsourced this constitutional duty to staff and machines, what other major decisions was he absent for?" 

Trump, in a Truth Social post on Sunday night, claimed that Biden was unaware of the pardons signed in the final days of his term, which included pardoning members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

"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," the president added.

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel determined in 2005 that the president is permitted to use an autopen to sign bills into law, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling in February that said the absence of "a writing does not equate to proof that a commutation did not occur."

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News' Diana Stancy, Andrew Mark Miller and Emma Colton contributed to this report.