US President Donald Trump issued a directive on Wednesday calling for an investigation into Joe Biden’s presidential actions, questioning the authenticity of his decision-making and use of an autopen for official documents, and also the “conspiracy” behind his declining cognitive health. Trump suggested that Biden’s staff concealed his “cognitive decline”.Biden issued a firm rebuttal Wednesday night, stating: “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”The use of autopen for signing legislation and pardons has been accepted by the justice department across different administrations. The Constitution clearly establishes the president’s absolute pardon authority, and Trump provided no evidence to support his claims about Biden’s awareness of actions taken.Trump stated in a memo: “This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”The investigation has been assigned to Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel David Warrington. Biden’s representatives have not yet commented on the matter.The legal viability of Trump’s initiative remains uncertain. This action demonstrates his continued focus on Biden, who won the 2020 election, which Trump continues to dispute despite no evidence of fraud.Trump criticises Biden’s use of the autopen, a device that reproduces exact signatures, despite its established use in previous administrations. He alleges that Biden’s staff inappropriately exercised presidential authority.Before leaving office, Biden pardoned his siblings to protect them from potential prosecution under Trump, who had promised retaliation. The pardons also included members of a congressional committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 Capitol incident.Trump has a history of requesting investigations into his political opponents. Previous targets include Chris Krebs, who rejected Trump’s election fraud claims in 2020, and Miles Taylor, who authored a critical anonymous opinion piece about Trump in 2018.
