President Donald Trump is arguing a series of final-hour pardons issued by former President Joe Biden are void.
In a late-night Truth Social post, Trump said, “The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen.”
As one of his final presidential acts, Biden sparked controversy when he pardoned members of his family and other people he suspected would be a target of Trump’s political retribution. The Justice Department said in 2005 that autopens alone are permissible for a President’s signature, but Trump’s accusations echo concerns from the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Trump said on Air Force One that it would be up to a court of the pardons will hold. Meanwhile, here is a recap of Biden’s final pardons:
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On Jan. 19, Biden issued several pardons for people not yet charged with a crime. Those included:
The Select Committee, which Trump has taken to calling the “Unselect Committee” consists of:
- Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
- Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
- Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
- Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. (Formerly a Representative)
- Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla.
- Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
- Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
- Former Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va.
- Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illi.
The pardons drew criticism, even from some Democrats who questioned him for pardoning his own family.
Trump pardons Jan. 6 defendants, has said Select Committee should go to jail
Biden’s pardons were followed up by Trump, coming into office the next day, who exercised his pardoning powers to extend clemency to nearly 1,600 people who were charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
Trump has been an outspoken critic of Cheney and said she should “go to jail” along with the rest of the committee.
Raskin said in January he and the committee had been pardoned because they were innocent, drawing a contrast between Trump’s pardon orders.
“Why were they being pardoned? That’s my question. In other words, were they innocent? Nobody’s asserting that,” Raskin told CNN at the time. “Or were they being pardoned simply because they were the willing political soldier for Donald Trump when he incited an insurrection against the government?”
At a White House briefing Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is calling into question whether or not Biden actually authorized his pardons due to the use of an autopen.
Biden had put out a statement at the time, saying, “My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
Contributing: Savannah Kuchar, David Jackson, USA TODAY