Trump's Justice Department examining pardons issued by Biden

3/6/2025 7:13

A senior official in Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's Justice Department told staff on Monday that he has been directed to investigate clemency granted by Democrat Joe Biden in the waning days of his presidency to members of his family and death row inmates.



Ed Martin, the Justice Department's pardon attorney, wrote in an email seen by Reuters that the investigation involves whether Biden "was competent and whether others were taking advantage of him through use of AutoPen or other means."



An autopen is a device used to automatically affix a signature to a document. Trump and his supporters have made a variety of unfounded claims that Biden's use of the device while president invalidated his actions or suggested that he was not fully aware of these actions. It is not known whether Biden used

autopen on pardons.