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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., questioned the validity of pardons granted by former President Joe Biden after the release of a high-profile report by the House Oversight Committee.
“It sounds like a terrible novel or something, but this is reality,” Johnson said in response to the House GOP’s allegations that Biden’s inner circle conspired to hide signs of mental decline in the former president.
“And so the pardons, for example, he pardoned categories of violent criminals and turned them loose on the streets, and he didn’t even know who. He didn’t even know what the categories were, apparently, much less the individual people, that he pardoned.”
Johnson said the pardons were “invalid on their face.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes former President Joe Biden’s autopen signed pardons are “invalid.” (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
“I mean, I used to be a constitutional litigator. I would love to take this case,” he said.
The committee’s GOP majority released a 100-page report on Tuesday morning detailing findings from its months-long probe into Biden’s White House, specifically whether his inner circle covered up signs of mental decline in the ex-president, and if that alleged cover-up extended to executive actions signed via autopen without Biden’s full awareness.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., heaped doubt on whether Biden actually signed off on all of his executive actions when the autopen was used — in particular, the thousands of clemency orders he authorized during his term.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, during a hearing in Washington, March 20, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Comer said Biden’s autopen-authorized actions should be considered “void” and called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review the matter.
Asked at his press conference about whether there was a legal avenue to nullify Biden’s executive actions signed by autopen, Johnson signaled that he saw such an opportunity as it related to Biden’s pardons specifically.
“You can’t allow a president to check out and have unelected, unaccountable, faceless people making massive decisions for the country,” Johnson said.
A Biden spokesperson pushed back on the committee’s conclusions in a statement to Digital made Tuesday morning, however.
“This investigation into baseless claims has confirmed what has been clear from the start: President Biden made the decisions of his presidency. There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, and no wrongdoing. Congressional Republicans should stop focusing on political retribution and instead work to end the government shutdown,” the spokesperson said.
In an interview with The New York Times in July, Biden affirmed he “made every decision” on his own.
