House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is throwing a constitutional curveball at former President Joe Biden’s legacy with a bombshell claim that some of his pardons might be as invalid as a parking ticket on a bicycle.
A months-long investigation by the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has culminated in a hefty 100-page report alleging that Biden’s inner circle may have obscured signs of mental decline while executive actions, including pardons, were authorized via autopen without his full knowledge.
This report, dropped on a Tuesday morning, isn’t just a stack of paper—it’s a political grenade questioning whether Biden was truly at the helm for every decision during his tenure.
Johnson didn’t mince words when he zeroed in on the pardons, suggesting they were handed out to entire categories of violent offenders without Biden even knowing the specifics of who or what he was signing off on.
“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 what the categories were, apparently, much less the individual people that he pardoned,” Johnson said.
That’s quite the accusation—imagine signing a blank check for clemency and not even peeking at the fine print; it’s the kind of oversight that could make even the most forgiving conservative raise an eyebrow.
Comer echoed Johnson’s concerns, casting doubt on whether Biden personally approved thousands of clemency orders when the autopen was used, going so far as to label such actions potentially “void.”
He’s even urged the Department of Justice to step in and review the matter, which sounds like the opening bell for a legal showdown over executive authority.
Johnson, no stranger to the courtroom with his background as a constitutional litigator, hinted at a willingness to dive into this fight himself, suggesting there might be a path to nullify these autopen-signed actions.
On the other side of the aisle, a Biden spokesperson fired back swiftly in a statement to Fox News Digital, dismissing the committee’s findings as nothing more than a partisan witch hunt.
“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,” the spokesperson declared.
That’s a bold defense, but when you’ve got a 100-page report alleging your boss might not have been fully in the loop, it’s hard to just wave it off as political theater without a few skeptics lingering.
Biden himself has previously insisted on his autonomy, telling The New York Times in a July interview, “I made every decision,” a statement that stands in stark contrast to the Oversight Committee’s narrative.
Yet, with Johnson and Comer pushing for legal reviews and questioning the very foundation of these executive actions, this story is far from over—it’s a battle over accountability that could ripple through the courts for years, reminding us all that unchecked power, even behind an autopen, is a dangerous precedent in a republic built on checks and balances.
