Biden Administration Under Scrutiny for Clemency Actions and Autopen Use
The Biden administration faces scrutiny over delegated clemency decisions, including autopen use for pardons, and questions regarding President Biden's personal approval of thousands of commutations.
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Overview
- Internal memos reveal critical decisions, including clemencies, were delegated, with former Vice President Kamala Harris involved in the approval process by February 2024.
- Despite initial insistence on hand-signed presidential actions, Biden's senior staff recommended he personally approve and sign clemency actions.
- President Biden granted a record 4,245 acts of clemency, though initial pardon guidance conflicted with his team's preference for hand-signed documents.
- Internal emails suggest President Biden might not have approved 2,500 commutations for crack cocaine offenses, with awareness of potential legal flaws in the process.
- The Biden administration faces scrutiny over the use of an autopen for pardons, prompting President Trump to order an investigation into the matter.
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FAQ
Vice President Kamala Harris became involved in the clemency approval process by February 2024 and was given authority to review petitioners individually, with her approval sometimes sufficient to obtain President Biden’s approval for clemency decisions, effectively delegating significant clemency authority to her.
Although Biden's senior staff initially recommended he personally hand-sign clemency documents, including pardons, the administration employed the use of an autopen to sign some pardons, prompting scrutiny and investigation triggered by concerns over the legality and personal approval of these actions.
President Biden granted a record 4,245 acts of clemency; however, internal emails suggest he might not have personally approved approximately 2,500 commutations for crack cocaine offenses, raising questions about the legal validity of parts of the clemency process.
No contemporaneous staff notes or records confirm President Biden's presence or verbal approval at four critical clemency meetings held in December 2024 and January 2025, despite retrospective emails indicating his verbal approval during those times.
There were concerns about the legality of clemency actions where President Biden may not have personally approved thousands of commutations, the use of autopen for signing pardons potentially diverging from required presidential approvals, and questions about the delegation of clemency authority to Vice President Harris without sufficient documentation.
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