President Donald Trump recently announced on social media that he was declaring all of former President Joe Biden’s executive orders invalid, and that he wasn’t ruling out having his predecessor charged with crimes.
In a Friday post to his Truth Social platform, Trump declared: “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92 [percent] of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States.”
“I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally,” the president added. “Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”
Trump’s post was almost immediately ridiculed by various journalists, commentators and experts. Gizmodo reporter Matt Novak wrote on Bluesky that the president’s attempt to invalidate “any document” Biden signed would face significant legal obstacles.
“He can’t legally do that but, as always, we get to watch how far he can push this without repercussions,” Novak added.
“Always important to bear in mind that Truth Social posts do not have the force of law and sometimes Trump just says he’s doing things and nothing actually happens,” American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick posted to Bluesky.
Others pointed out that Trump has personally used the autopen in the past, just as other presidents have done for decades, dating back to former President John F. Kennedy. It’s also unlikely that Trump could prosecute Biden for perjury, as the Trump v. United States Supreme Court ruling of 2024 declared that all presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecutions for all official acts.
“THIS IS ILLEGAL and Trump has used the autopen hundreds of times,” tweeted liberal commentator Brian Krassenstein.
Democratic strategist Jason Karsh observed that while Trump “can’t legally do this,” he was still “going to try,” saying that the president “desperately wants to put his political enemies in jail.” Progressive influencer Leah McElrath opined that Trump “will only be more dangerous the more unpopular he becomes and the more cornered he feels.”
Journalist Robert Silverman commented that Trump’s fixation on the autopen was “all lunacy,” but noted that “the right has been hammering away at this autopen conspiracy since the inauguration.” And retired Hennepin County, Minnesota commissioner Linda Higgins called Trump’s declaration “totally unenforceable” with “no effect under the law.”
“Isn’t there someone in this old man’s sphere who can just make him stop with this nonsense?” She added.
The post ‘This is illegal’: Trump’s wild new threat mocked as ‘lunacy’ appeared first on Raw Story.
