What is an autopen and why can’t Trump stop talking about it?

What is an autopen?

The autopen, which was patented in the US in 1803, is a robotic device that replicates signatures of a person using real ink. The autopen is often used to sign materials in bulk.

According to a 2005 guidance from the justice department, the “president need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law”.

Instead, the president “may sign a bill … by directing a subordinate to affix the president’s signature to such a bill, for example by autopen”.

Have other presidents used it?

Yes, numerous presidents have used the autopen, dating back to Thomas Jefferson, who used an early version of the device, according to the Shappell Manuscript Foundation. Harry Truman was rumoured to have used the pen, as well as Gerald Ford and Lyndon B Johnson, who allowed the device to be photographed in the White House.

Other presidents include John F Kennedy as well as Barack Obama, who used the device to sign various legislation including the Patriot Act and an appropriations bill while overseas.

In March, Trump said he had also used the autopen for what he described as “very unimportant papers”.

Veterans Bureau director Colonel Ijams watching a disbursement officer sign cheques for veterans using a ‘multiple signing machine’ – an early version of today’s autopen – in 1931. Photograph: Underwood Archives, Inc/Alamy

What do we know about Biden’s use of autopen?

Trump has claimed on his Truth Social platform that the autopen was operated by other people without Biden’s approval, making “approximately 92%” of his executive orders invalid, but there is no evidence of the extent of Biden’s autopen use in office.

A Republican-led oversight committee released a report in October on Biden’s use of the autopen that made many sweeping claims but did not include any concrete evidence that aides conspired to enact policies without Biden’s knowledge or that he was unaware of laws, pardons or executive orders signed in his name. Democrats on the committee denounced the report as a “sham”.

Biden has defended his autopen use, telling the New York Times in March that “I made every decision” and that he directed his staff to use an autopen on clemency warrants because “we’re talking about a whole lot of people”.

Why does Trump keep bringing this up?

Biden’s use of the autopen has been a favourite attack of Trump for a while. In March, Trump claimed without evidence that Biden’s pardons were “void, vacant and of no further force and effect” because they were signed with an autopen. Throughout his campaign trail and into his presidency, Trump has also repeatedly claimed that Biden’s cognitive state hindered his presidential duties.

Earlier this year, Trump hung a photo of an autopen instead of Biden in the White House’s new presidential gallery.

The autopen claim has been heavily pushed by the Oversight Project, an extension of the Trump-allied rightwing thinktank Heritage Foundation, which released a report into Biden’s autopen use. “Whoever controlled the autopen controlled the presidency,” it claimed in a post earlier this year. However, the report did not include any evidence that Biden’s aides conspired to implement policies without his approvals.

Joe Biden’s signature is displayed in place of his portrait at the White House. Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters

Nevertheless, following Trump’s announcement on Friday, the Oversight Project hailed the president, saying: “We will follow up with the relevant authorities to identify what fraudulent documents are still being treated with legal effect.”

Can Trump actually do what he is threatening?

It remains unclear how Trump plans to undo the majority of Biden’s decisions, although presidents are legally allowed to reverse executive orders signed by their predecessors. However, the president does not have authority to overturn his predecessor’s pardons, according to legal scholars who point to the constitution.