In one of the most legally audacious and politically explosive declarations of his second term, President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is voiding all autopen-signed documents issued under former President Joe Biden — and threatened to charge his predecessor with perjury if he claims he authorized them. The unprecedented statement, posted to Truth Social, instantly ignited a storm among constitutional scholars, former Justice Department officials, and lawmakers who warn the move could plunge the federal government into a chaotic legal fog.

Trump, 79, has spent months portraying Biden, now 83, as mentally absent during his presidency, repeatedly suggesting that staffers — not the president — were running the country “behind his back.” His new declaration pushes that argument into uncharted territory, raising the question of whether a sitting president can retroactively invalidate four years of federal actions by claiming his predecessor didn’t sign them personally.

“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated,” Trump wrote, adding: “If he says he authorized it, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.” He accused “Radical Left lunatics” of operating the autopen “illegally,” and declared that all executive orders not bearing Biden’s “direct signature” are now cancelled.

A Direct Collision with Decades of Presidential Practice

Autopen signatures — the mechanical reproduction of a president’s signature — have been used by modern presidents for decades. Ronald Reagan used it frequently. Barack Obama famously signed the renewal of the Patriot Act with an autopen while traveling abroad. George W. Bush’s Justice Department issued a definitive 2005 Office of Legal Counsel opinion affirming that a president may legally direct a subordinate to affix his signature to a bill or executive document.

Those precedents make Trump’s claim uniquely disruptive: He is not arguing the autopen is inherently invalid — he’s arguing Biden never authorized its use, and thus staffers acted without legal authority.

A House Republican investigation earlier this year uncovered no direct evidence Biden’s aides used the device without approval, though it did highlight the president’s limited personal involvement in last-minute pardons and some executive actions. The report relied heavily on emails and staff testimony suggesting oral instructions were sometimes vague — but no witness claimed Biden was unaware of autopen usage.

That nuance disappears in Trump’s narrative, which relies on the sweeping premise that Biden’s entire presidency was functionally illegitimate.

Constitutional Experts Sound Alarm: “Legally Ridiculous, Practically Devastating”

Legal scholars across the political spectrum quickly warned that Trump’s announcement has no legal force without supporting executive orders, DOJ guidance, or actual litigation — but the signal it sends is deeply destabilizing.

“Autopen signatures are as valid as the president’s own hand so long as he authorizes them,” said one former OLC attorney. “If Trump is arguing Biden didn’t authorize them, he would need criminal proof — not rhetoric.”

The threat of perjury charges is even murkier. Perjury applies to knowingly false statements made under oath; Biden has not testified under oath about autopen usage.

“This is a political warning dressed up as a criminal threat,” said a former federal prosecutor. “The real aim may be delegitimizing Biden’s entire presidency.”

Among the actions potentially affected if Trump pursues invalidation:
• COVID-era emergency orders
• federal personnel directives
• dozens of agency rules and regulatory changes
• potentially hundreds of pardons and commutations
• student loan forgiveness memos
• executive actions on climate, immigration, and AI

The White House Counsel’s Office is reportedly preparing a memorandum rebutting Trump’s declaration, though Biden’s team declined public comment.

Republicans Split: Comer Cheers, Others Fear Federal Chaos

House Oversight Chair James Comer quickly praised Trump:
“I applaud President Trump for deeming President Biden’s autopen actions null and void.”

Comer echoed Trump’s longstanding claim that Biden’s aides “deceived the public” about his condition and took unauthorized executive actions “behind his back.”

Privately, however, a number of congressional Republicans reportedly fear Trump’s move could boomerang — especially if a future Democratic administration attempts to retroactively nullify Trump-signed documents on grounds of fitness, authorization, or intent.

One GOP strategist put it bluntly:
“If Trump can wipe out four years of Biden with a post-hoc signature test, then Biden 2.0 can wipe out four years of Trump the same way. It’s a Pandora’s box.”

Democrats Warn of Constitutional Crisis: “This Is How Autocracies Rework History”

Democrats erupted in disbelief, calling it an authoritarian rewriting of the past:

“This is a surreal attempt to pretend the Biden presidency never happened,” one senior Democrat said. “If Trump starts behaving as if four years of law were invalid, we’re in genuine constitutional crisis territory.”

Legal groups say dozens of federal programs could face immediate confusion if agencies take Trump’s directive literally — especially immigration, student loans, healthcare rules, and federal contracting guidelines.

“The administrative state cannot function if every signature becomes retroactively debatable,” said a former Biden administration official. “This is governance by eraser.”

The Bigger Game: Erasing Biden, Cementing Trump’s Second Term

Trump’s move fits a broader pattern:
• He has already revoked over 100 Biden-era executive orders.
• He has questioned the legality of Biden’s last-minute pardons.
• He has ordered reviews of Biden-era agency rules for “unauthorized authority.”
• He has framed Biden personally as “absent,” “illegitimate,” or “nonfunctional.”

The autopen declaration is simply the most sweeping version yet — a symbolic stroke attempting to erase nearly his entire predecessor’s paper trail.

Whether it becomes policy or remains political theatre may hinge on what Trump orders DOJ and executive agencies to do next. If he issues a formal executive order instructing agencies to treat autopen-signed documents as invalid unless re-authorized, the legal battle could move to federal court within days.

What Happens Now?

Expect:
• A DOJ or OLC memorandum clarifying the legal status of autopen orders
• Court challenges from affected beneficiaries (especially pardons, regulatory rules, and recipients of Biden-era benefits)
• Congressional hearings from Democrats on “executive overreach”
• A major fight over the separation of powers

For now, Trump’s declaration operates as a political nuke lobbed at Biden’s legacy — and a warning shot about how aggressively he intends to reinterpret presidential authority in his second term.