Federal prosecutors end review into whether mechanical signatures were improperly used for presidential pardons and official actions.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia have ended a Justice Department investigation examining whether former President Joe Biden or his aides improperly used an autopen device to sign presidential documents, according to multiple news reports.
The review had focused on whether mechanical signature technology was used in a way that could violate federal law when issuing pardons or other executive actions. The inquiry was overseen by the office of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
According to reporting from CBS News, prosecutors concluded the investigation after determining they could not establish a legal basis for pursuing criminal charges.
“Federal prosecutors in U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office are dropping a criminal probe into whether former President Joe Biden and his aides unlawfully used an autopen to issue pardons, a person briefed on the matter told CBS News,” the outlet reported.
Two sources familiar with the investigation confirmed that the review had taken place but was ultimately closed because prosecutors “were never able to find a legal hook to be able to pursue the matter further,” according to the report. Officials did not specify when the investigation formally ended.
The probe began after President Donald Trump ordered a federal review of Biden administration actions that had been signed using mechanical signature devices. In a directive issued last June, Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi and the White House counsel to examine whether the technology had been used improperly in official presidential decisions.
The directive cited concerns that autopen technology may have been used to sign key presidential actions without direct authorization from the president. In a memorandum released by the White House, Trump called for a review into what he described as a potential attempt “to abuse the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline,” according to the White House memo.
The memo referenced a range of executive actions taken during Biden’s presidency, including pardons and judicial appointments. It argued that “there are serious doubts as to the decision making process and even the degree of Biden’s awareness of these actions being taken in his name.”
The document further suggested that if aides had used a mechanical signature device without direct authorization, the legality of certain executive actions could be questioned.
Biden rejected the claims at the time, describing them as false and politically motivated. He said the accusations were “nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.”
The closing of the autopen inquiry represents one of several investigations pursued by the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office that have not resulted in criminal charges in recent months.
CBS News also reported that a federal grand jury previously declined to indict six Democratic lawmakers who were accused of violating the law by encouraging members of the military to refuse unlawful orders in a video released the previous year. According to the report, not a single grand juror voted in favor of issuing an indictment in that case.
Pirro’s office has also sought to obtain documents related to renovations at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters and comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during congressional testimony. The Federal Reserve has challenged those requests in court, seeking to block the subpoenas in what has been described as a sealed legal dispute.
The closure of the autopen investigation was first reported by The New York Times, which said the Justice Department had attempted but failed to build a criminal case connected to the use of the mechanical signature device.
In a social media post discussing the report, journalist Michael S. Schmidt wrote: “EXCLUSIVE and BREAKING: Despite pressure from Trump, DOJ tried — but failed — to build a criminal case against Biden and his aides for the use of the autopen. This is latest example of DOJ failing to follow through on Trump’s desires to use criminal justice system to indict and…”
The use of autopen technology became a point of controversy after the Oversight Project said it had identified numerous presidential actions signed with the device rather than a traditional handwritten signature.
The organization reported discovering multiple distinct signature patterns used on documents such as pardons and commutations.
In March 2025, the group announced that it had identified what it described as a second autopen signature associated with Biden’s clemency actions.
“🚨SECOND AUTOPEN DISCOVERED🚨 We have found that there was a second frequently used autopen signature for President Biden on pardons and commutations,” the Oversight Project wrote in a statement shared on social media.
The organization later said that a third autopen signature appeared to have been used for presidential proclamations beginning during the first week of Biden’s presidency.
Following news that prosecutors had closed the investigation, the Oversight Project said it would continue reviewing the issue.
“We will wait for the facts to emerge, but accountability for the ‘scandal of the century’ is desperately needed and deserved. We’ve laid out several ways to make that happen and will continue to push for results,” the group said in a statement posted online.
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