Joe Biden rammed through a flurry of controversial pardons in his final days in office, including for Adam Schiff.
Now those pardons could be completely worthless.
And Trump’s DOJ just dropped a autopen bombshell on Adam Schiff that has all hell breaking loose
Biden’s controversial pardons under the microscope
The Justice Department is taking a hard look at the controversial pardons that Joe Biden rushed through in the final hours of his administration.
Ed Martin, who is serving as the incoming Department of Justice pardon attorney and director of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, announced Tuesday that his office will be reviewing all of the so-called “autopen pardons” issued during Biden’s last days in the White House.
“They need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter, and to be accepted, and to be something that’s used correctly. So I do think we’re going to take a hard look at how they went and what they did,” Martin told reporters.
This investigation could spell serious trouble for the controversial figures Biden pardoned, including Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, members of the Biden family, and former members of the House January 6 select committee.
The “autopen” problem could invalidate Biden’s pardons
The controversy centers around evidence that Biden’s signature on numerous important documents – including the pardons – was machine-generated rather than personally signed by him.
In March, the conservative Oversight Project revealed that Biden likely used an autopen for his signature on numerous pardons and executive orders. The watchdog group later confirmed “the same exact Biden autopen signature” appeared on pardons for Fauci, Milley, and members of the January 6 committee.
Making matters worse, Biden’s cognitive decline has led many to question whether he was even aware of the pardons being issued in his name. Reports surfaced of staffers and family members making decisions on Biden’s behalf while his mental abilities deteriorated.
This was further compounded by evidence showing Biden’s signature appearing on documents while he was on vacation, and his alleged admission to having no recollection of signing a January 2024 order about liquefied natural gas exports.
“The prolific use of autopen by the Biden White House was an instrument to hide the truth from the American people as to who was running the government,” Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, told Blaze News.
Controversial pardons for Biden allies
The most contentious pardons went to some of Biden’s closest political allies who were potentially facing legal trouble.
🚨 Autopen Update 🚨
We analyzed Biden’s Jan. 19, 2025 “pardons” for:-Biden Family Members
-Anthony Fauci
-General Milley
-J6 Committee
-Gerald LunderganThey all have the same exact Biden autopen signature https://t.co/jc6mkx37il pic.twitter.com/8VeBDwLNv7
— Oversight Project (@ItsYourGov) March 11, 2025
Fauci received a “full and unconditional” pardon for potential federal crimes going back to January 1, 2014 – around the time the Obama administration supposedly halted funding for dangerous gain-of-function research. Without this pardon, Fauci would be legally exposed at both the state and federal levels, especially as 16 state attorneys general launched an investigation into his role in the COVID-19 pandemic response.
General Mark Milley received a pardon just hours before Biden left office. President Trump has previously suggested Milley may have committed “treason” for calling his communist Chinese counterpart, General Li Zuocheng, on two occasions to reassure him he would provide warnings if Trump decided to attack China.
Former members of the House January 6 committee, including Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Adam Schiff, and Bennie Thompson, were also given pardons – even though Schiff indicated in December he didn’t want one.
Trump believes the pardons are invalid
Even before this DOJ investigation, President Trump had already declared Biden’s “autopen” pardons were “VOID.”
“The American people were promised accountability, and I think Ed Martin is our best shot at it,” Howell told Blaze News. “These pardons are fake and invalid, and the president has already said that is his view.”
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and other legal experts have questioned the legal legitimacy of pardons bearing Biden’s machine-printed signature.
“When these people, like the January 6 Committee and particularly Adam Schiff, are charged and try defending their bogus pardon, then we will start to learn who was really running the White House,” Howell continued. “We need to answer the question everyone is asking: Who was running the government the last four years?”
For Fauci, Milley, Schiff, Cheney, and others who thought they had been legally protected by Biden’s last-minute pardons, the reality is setting in that they may still face accountability for their actions.
The Trump administration’s DOJ is now putting them all on notice that justice is indeed coming.
