In a post on Truth Social, which he later confirmed in recorded remarks to the media, President Donald Trump declared that he was nullifying the pardons granted to the members of the J6 Committee, including former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) and current Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), for their involvement in the J6 Committee, as well as President Biden’s last-minute pardons for his family members, General Mark Milley, and Dr. Fauci. President Trump rationalized his decision by stating that former President Biden was not in a sound state of mind when he authorized these pardons.
To provide context, the primary rationale for President Trump’s annulment of the pardons for the so-called “Unselect Committee” members, as Trump refers to them, and others, was the claim that the pardon allegedly signed by former President Biden was executed using an autopen, similar to most other documents that were purportedly signed by him. This raises questions about the validity of the signatures, suggesting they may not be legitimate. Additionally, some reports indicate that former President Biden was unaware of the pardons, further undermining their authenticity.
Regardless, in a post on Truth Social early on the morning of Monday, March 17, President Trump attributed the issue to the autopen mentioned in the first sentence and proclaimed the pardons entirely void, stating, “The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden granted to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, due to the fact that they were executed by Autopen.”
Furthermore, the president elaborated on the significance of the autopen, subsequently asserting that it seems the former president was not even aware of what or who was being pardoned. He remarked, “In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he was completely uninformed about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were neither explained to nor approved by Biden. He had no knowledge of them, and those who did may have committed a crime.
