Constitutional scholar uses Biden autopen to flip Dems’ ‘democracy’ script against them: ‘Scandal’
Trump ordered an investigation into the Biden administration's controversial autopen use back in June
Emma Colton By Emma Colton Fox News
Published July 15, 2025 1:59pm EDT
Constitutional legal scholar Randy Barnett admonished Democrats' rhetoric claiming democracy is at risk under the Trump administration when "the biggest constitutional scandal in US history" played out under the Biden administration with the use of the autopen.
"For all the talk of a ‘constitutional crisis' or threats to ‘our democracy’ having the executive branch systematically run by unknown subordinates of a mentally incompetent president is the biggest constitutional scandal in US history – it’s called into question the legality of official acts done in his name but without proper authority," Barnett posted to X Monday.
"Southern secession was a ‘constitutional crisis,’" Barnett added in a follow-up message Tuesday. "This is a constitutional scandal."
Barnett, a Georgetown University law professor who serves as the director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, was referring to an interview former President Joe Biden conducted with the New York Times defending his use of an autopen. Biden said he orally approved a long list of clemency and pardon actions at the end of his tenure, but that his aides used the autopen to officiate the actions.
Amid the Biden autopen controversy, Democratic lawmakers and left-wing media pundits have continued slamming Trump as a threat to democracy – which was a common talking point during the election cycle – and claiming his actions as president, such as deporting illegal immigrants and revoking visa privileges for some foreign students, have thrown the U.S. into a constitutional crisis.
Biden told the Times that he was aware of every pardon ahead of leaving office in 2024, which included clemency and commutation actions related to 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders in his final weeks in office alone.
"I made every decision," Biden told the Times in a phone interview earlier in July that was published Sunday. He added that staff used the autopen for the pardons and commutations "because there were a lot of them."
"Mr. Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people, he and aides confirmed," the Times reported. "Rather, after extensive discussion of different possible criteria, he signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence."
more
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/constitutional-scholar-uses-biden-autopen-flip-dems-democracy-script-against-them-scandal