Donald Trump announced this on Monday He declared all documents “null and void and of no legal effect.” Which, according to him, was signed Automatic unlock During the Joe Biden administration. He refers not only to pardons signed by the former President of the United States, but also to executive orders, sentence reductions, and even contracts.
Automatic opening It’s a signature machine. It is a mechanical device that can copy a stored signature and is used by prominent people who, such as the head of state, have to sign several times throughout the day.
In this way, the character is involved Your signature is printed on demand, but without your direct intervention. The first of these automatic pens was invented by John Isaac Hawkins in 1803. Opens automatically In the 21st century, there are machines programmed with a signature that later produce a robotic mechanical arm.
US presidents have used it for a long time. Apparently Harry S. Truman was the first to use it, although he limited himself to signing checks and answering mail. Some credit Gerald Ford with being the first president to publicly acknowledge the use of… Automatic unlockbut Barack Obama was officially the first to sign the laws With the machine.
Donald Rumsfeld’s “automatic” condolences.
- Those who use automatic signatures usually don’t say so. Ultimately, machine-generated signatures are valued less than manually generated ones, and are considered inauthentic by their recipients. In 2004, Donald Rumsfeld, then US Secretary of Defense, came under fire after it was discovered that his office had used an automated signature to sign condolence letters to the families of US soldiers killed in the war.
Obama signs laws with “automatic opening” system
Obama has used it on several occasions as well as to sign laws. the The first was in May 2011when he signed the extension of the Patriot Act while staying in Europe at the G8 summit. White House officials at the time considered it important to sign the extension before the old law expired.
The second occasion was on November 2011, When Obama signed an emergency spending bill to keep the government running. He was traveling to Indonesia. in January 2013 He was on vacation in Hawaii and signed the extension of the Bush tax cuts using an automatic pen. If he had not done so, he would have had to receive the bill by plane during the night, to sign it on time.
In the first case there was controversy. A group of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives wrote to Obama to express their concerns about the use of the robotic pen. They confirmed This practice appears to be “unconstitutional.” They can be challenged in court, even though they have not filed a lawsuit.
Whether or not you must be present when using the device
That’s why, as a precaution, years ago, George W. Bush sought advice from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. That was in 2005 and he received a positive opinion on the constitutionality of using an automatic pen. The Office of Legal Counsel stated that Article 1, Section 7 of The Constitution allowed the president to use a mechanical pen to sign lawsPointing out that “the president does not need to personally do the physical work of putting his signature on the bill in order to sign it.”
Terry Turnipseed, a law professor at Syracuse University, wrote about legality Automatic unlock. He believes that the use of an automatic pen is not in itself unconstitutional; The fact that the president was not present when it was used. In his opinion, published by the Washington Times in 2013, the machine should only be used in the exceptional case of the president’s incapacity.
Before announcing it now, Trump had already ordered an investigation into Biden’s use of an automatic pen to sign presidential documents such as pardons. He claimed that there was A “conspiracy” to “abuse corporate power.” Presidential election using robotic pen to hide Biden’s cognitive decline.
In a statement in July, Biden called Trump’s claims “nothing more than a distraction.” “Let’s be clear: I made decisions during my presidency. I have made decisions on pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. “Any suggestion that I didn’t do it is ridiculous and false,” the former president declared.
Trump has also used ‘auto-unlock’
During his presidency, Biden signed 162 executive orders According to the US presidential project. It is not certain how many people have signed using an electronic signature device, although it is not unusual for presidents to overturn the directives of their predecessors.
In October, House Republicans issued a report criticizing the use Automatic unlock By Biden, CBS News reported. but, It did not include clear evidence of the conspiracy of his advisors Sign laws or other directives without your knowledge.
naturally Trump also used an automatic pen. In March, the businessman admitted that he had also used a file Automatic unlockBut “only for absolutely unimportant documents.”
Biden, acts of clemency but little pardon
Trump already warned last March. He announced in a post on the Truth Social website (his social network) that the pardon granted by Biden to members of the House Committee investigating the riot that occurred on January 6, 2021 in the Capitol building was invalid due to the use of an automatic pen.
In fact, shortly before leaving the White House, Biden preemptively granted clemency to several people Members of Congress who conducted investigations into the January 6, 2021 attack To avoid possible retaliation from Trump. He also granted clemency to family members, including his son Hunter.
Biden released a record 4245 acts of clemency during the four years he spent in officemore than any other US president since the early 20th century, according to the independent Pew Research Center. Most of them were a reduction or reduction of the sentence.
In fact, the Democrat He issued only 80 individual pardonsIt is the second lowest number during the same period, but it is best known for its broadcast “Amnesty by declaration.” This included declaring pardons for former military personnel convicted of violating the ban on same-sex relations, which has since been repealed, and for people convicted of certain federal marijuana crimes, according to Pew. In any case, it is not clear How much and which The pardons and commutations ordered by Biden have been signed Automatic unlock.
Among the cases of preventive amnesty are those of Anthony Fauci, Who led the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and retired Gen mark mele, The former chief of staff responsible for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Now, Trump is expanding his statement in March to include other actions where… Automatic unlockIncluding pardon Executive orders and substitutions And contracts.
Can Trump cancel these pardons?
The big question is whether Trump’s decision has a legal basis. Let’s start with the US Constitution It is not stated anywhere that the pardon must be signed by hand.According to PolitiFact, the fact-checking site of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
Bernadette Miller, a constitutional law expert at Stanford University, confirms that Trump does not have the authority to cancel pardons or commute sentences. “This announcement has no legal effect. Any laws or pardons signed by Biden via automatic signature remain in effect. The only exception is the executive order, which does not enter into force unless the president himself or someone else cancels it.”
He added: “Trump can revoke those orders, so this statement will presumably cancel any such order. But the pardons and laws remain in place.” PolitiFact confirms that “There is no constitutional mechanism to revoke the amnestyA court ruling in 1869 determined that a pardon becomes final once it is granted.
Pardons maybe no, but executive orders yes. Trump has already canceled dozens of signatures signed by Biden. According to the White House, the president canceled nearly 70 of them shortly after he was inaugurated for his second term, on January 20, and another 19 on March 14.