Trump writes on Truth Social that Biden's various pardons "are hereby declared VOID".
As one of his last actions as president, Biden pardoned several of Trump's antagonists in a preventive manner. Among others, it was the covid advisor Anthony Fauci, the defense chief Mark Milley, and the politicians in the congressional committee that investigated the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump motivates himself with a claim that Biden used an automatic signing machine. He writes further that the persons in the January 6 committee now "will know that they are subject to investigation".
Legally Binding
A so-called autopen is a common tool for those who sign a lot of papers – not least presidents. In the US Constitution, there is no provision that the president's pardons can be revoked, regardless of the choice of pen, notes NBC News.
Both Biden and ex-president Barack Obama have used the automatic device, according to NBC. That even such a signature is legally binding was established in a letter from the Justice Department in 2005, when the then Republican President George W Bush wanted clarification.
Trump received a question from journalists on Monday about whether everything Biden signed with an autopen should be declared invalid.
I think so. It's not my decision, it's up to a court, he replied, according to AFP.
The Damage Already Done
Kimberly Wehle, law professor at the University of Baltimore, does not believe that Trump will get a hearing. But that may not be the point, she notes for Axios, considering the concern that a potential legal battle would create.
The damage will then, to some extent, already be done.
Biden also pardoned his convicted son Hunter Biden and other family members at the end of his presidential term. Trump, in turn, has pardoned around 1,500 people who were convicted of participating in the congressional storming.
