The Trump administration has moved decisively to shut down an attempt by former President Joe Biden to block congressional access to records tied to the controversial use of an autopen during his presidency, escalating a political and constitutional battle that has rapidly grown into one of Washington’s most contentious post-presidency disputes.
Fox News Digital has learned that Biden formally requested executive privilege earlier this fall in an effort to prevent the release of documents now under scrutiny by House and Senate investigators. The investigations are examining whether key presidential actions including pardons, commutations, and executive orders were authorized by Biden himself or executed by aides using an autopen without his direct approval.
In an October 1, 2025 letter to the Archival Operations Division of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Biden argued that releasing the requested materials would undermine the presidency as an institution.
“I am concerned that disclosure of these materials would damage important institutional interests of the Presidency,” Biden wrote, asserting that the release could weaken the ability of future presidents to receive candid advice from senior advisers. On those grounds, he formally asserted executive privilege over a set of documents connected to presidential decision-making and internal deliberations.
Biden also emphasized that his administration had already complied with numerous congressional requests, noting that hundreds of documents had been turned over without objection. However, he claimed the latest request crossed a line by targeting materials that he argued are traditionally protected under executive privilege.
That argument, however, was swiftly rejected by the Trump White House.
Trump White House Rejects Privilege Claim
White House Counsel David Warrington responded on Tuesday with a sharply worded letter to NARA, formally denying Biden’s request for executive privilege protection. Warrington made clear that President Donald Trump views the issue not as a routine dispute over presidential confidentiality, but as a matter of profound public interest requiring full transparency.
“As President Trump has stated, the abuse of the autopen that took place during the Biden presidency, and the extraordinary efforts to shield President Biden’s diminished faculties from the American public, must be subject to a full accounting,” Warrington wrote.
He added that Congress has a compelling legislative need to examine how executive authority was exercised during Biden’s term, particularly amid allegations that unelected aides may have wielded presidential power without proper authorization.
Warrington also broadened the scope of criticism, referencing Biden-era policies and actions beyond the autopen controversy. He cited pandemic-related restrictions and politically motivated investigations into members of Congress as further reasons why lawmakers must be granted access to the full record.
“These events demand accountability to ensure nothing like this ever happens again,” Warrington stated.
Signature Discrepancies Raise New Questions
One of the most striking elements of the White House counsel’s response involved an apparent inconsistency in Biden’s signatures. Warrington pointed out that the signature on Biden’s executive privilege letter did not appear to match the signatures used on several high-profile pardons, including those granted to Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and other family members.
“Remarkably, this letter itself underscores the necessity of congressional investigation,” Warrington wrote, attaching images that showed what appeared to be three distinct versions of Biden’s signature.
The discrepancies have fueled suspicions that an autopen a mechanical device capable of reproducing a person’s signature—may have been used extensively during Biden’s presidency without his direct involvement.
Autopens are not new to the presidency. They have been used for decades by presidents of both parties, typically with explicit authorization. However, critics argue that the scale and context of their use during the Biden administration may represent an unprecedented delegation of presidential authority.
Biden Pushes Back on Accusations
Biden has forcefully denied any suggestion that his aides acted independently or without his knowledge. Responding to earlier accusations in June, the former president dismissed the claims as baseless.
“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” Biden said at the time. “I made the decisions about pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
Despite those assurances, skepticism has persisted, particularly after investigative reporting by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project earlier this year. The group found that a uniform signature appeared across numerous executive orders and official documents, while Biden’s signature on other communications such as the announcement of his withdrawal from the 2024 race varied noticeably.
Those findings reignited speculation that Biden’s inner circle may have played a more direct role in governance than publicly acknowledged.
Trump Escalates the Fight
President Trump has seized on the controversy, repeatedly warning that “whoever controlled the autopen controlled the presidency.” He has gone so far as to describe the issue as one of the biggest political scandals in modern American history.
Earlier this month, Trump announced his intention to invalidate all documents allegedly signed by autopen without Biden’s explicit authorization. In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that as much as 92% of official Biden-era documents were signed using the device.
“The autopen is not allowed to be used unless approval is specifically given by the President of the United States,” Trump wrote, accusing Biden’s aides of effectively commandeering the Oval Office.
Congressional Investigations Expand
Both chambers of Congress have launched parallel probes into the matter. In the House, Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has led an aggressive investigation into what Republicans describe as a coordinated effort to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline.
In October, Comer released a scathing report accusing Biden’s inner circle of misleading the public and potentially authorizing executive actions without presidential consent.
“Faced with the cognitive decline of President Joe Biden, White House aides hid the truth and took unauthorized executive actions,” the report stated.
The investigation included interviews with senior administration figures, including Biden’s former physician, chief of staff Ron Klain, and other top advisers.
Democrats on the committee rejected the findings, arguing that Republicans failed to produce concrete evidence of wrongdoing. In a rebuttal, House Democrats said months of investigation yielded no proof that Biden was unfit for office or unaware of actions taken in his name.
A Debate That Shaped the End of a Presidency
Concerns about Biden’s mental acuity had circulated for years but reached a boiling point during the June 2024 presidential debate against Trump. Biden’s halting performance shocked viewers and prompted an unprecedented wave of calls from Democratic leaders urging him to step aside.
In July 2024, Biden announced his withdrawal from the race via social media, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Harris ultimately lost to Trump after a brief and turbulent campaign.
Now, as investigations continue and political tensions remain high, the autopen controversy has become a defining issue of Biden’s legacy—and a flashpoint in the broader debate over transparency, accountability, and the limits of executive power.
Whether Congress uncovers evidence of wrongdoing or not, the clash between the Trump White House and the former president ensures that the questions surrounding Biden’s presidency are far from settled.