Comer announces investigation into Biden's alleged use of autopen for presidential pardons

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Friday told a Washington, D.C., audience that his committee is now investigating former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen to sign controversial pardons at the end of his term in the White House.

The use of an autopen itself isn't controversial because it has been used by other presidents in the past for executive orders, but the use of an autopen to sign pardons has not been tested legally so far, the Washington Examiner reported.

Biden allegedly used the pen late last year to sign wide-ranging pardons for his family members, including his brothers, James Biden and Francis Biden, sister-in-law Sara Jones Biden, sister Valerie Biden Owens and brother-in-law John Owens.

“So our newest investigation at Oversight Committee is, we’re investigating the autopen, and I think we’ve identified the staffer [who operated it]," Comer said at the Republican National Lawyers Association’s policy conference in D.C. “If what we think is going to play out on the autopen [investigation], it’s going to create a strong case on the pardons."

The investigation will focus on whether the former president was mentally fit to authorize the use of the pen, or if White House staffers authorized its use for the pardons instead. It is also looking at who authorized the use of the pen if it was not Biden.

Comer said congressional Republicans are also weighing blocking future presidents from issuing pardons for themselves and family members through a Constitutional amendment.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.