【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

"Any documents signed by 'Sleepy Joe Biden' using an automatic signature pen (accounting for about 92%) are now terminated and no longer have subsequent effect."

On the afternoon of November 28 local time, US President Trump announced this major news.

After taking office, Trump has repeatedly used the "automatic signature pen" as a reason to try to undermine the legitimacy of the Biden administration's actions. However, CNN reported that the latest statement has raised many questions, including whether he has the legal authority to revoke the actions of the previous president based on the reasons he stated.

The above statement by Trump was made on his self-created social media platform "Truth Social," but it did not specify which documents fall into the 92% category.

"Without explicit approval from the President of the United States, the use of an automatic signature pen is not allowed," Trump wrote, "I am now formally canceling all executive orders and any other things not directly signed by Biden, because those who operated the automatic signature pen were acting illegally."

He further claimed that "radical left-wing madmen" had taken away Biden's presidential power, and that the people who signed with the automatic signature pen were not Biden. He also warned: "If Biden says he was involved, he will be charged with perjury."

Video screenshot of Trump and Biden attending a White House transition meeting in January

Trump and the Republicans have long used the issue of the "automatic signature pen" to attack Biden, claiming that Biden was sidelined by those around him, and that someone used the automatic signature pen to sign government documents without Biden's involvement.

In March this year, Trump emphasized that this showed Biden was not the one in charge during his time in the White House, and that his actions were "invalid." At that time, conservative administrative power scholar John Yoo said to CNN that Trump was just "joking about Biden."

However, later, Trump ordered an investigation into Biden's use of the automatic signature pen and linked it to Biden's alleged "cognitive decline."

CNN mentioned in its report that in 2005, during the Bush administration, the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice conducted a comprehensive review of the legality of the president's use of an automatic signature pen. After reviewing, the department found that "the president does not need to personally complete the physical act of signing a bill, which complies with the signing procedure stipulated in Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution."

Trump most often focused on Biden's presidential pardons, but signing pardons with an automatic signature pen is not illegal. As early as 1929, a U.S. Attorney General memorandum pointed out that the Constitution does not even specify the method of issuing pardons.

Before leaving office, Biden issued multiple batches of commutation orders, including reducing the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates. On January 20, Biden signed several pardons before Trump became president, "preemptively" pardoning several relatives, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, and members of the House "Capitol Riot" special investigation committee.

In June this year, Biden said, "All of my decisions during my presidency were mine." He said, "Decisions on pardons, executive orders, legislation, and announcements were all made by me. Any implication that I didn't participate is absurd and false."

In July, when interviewed, Biden responded that he had indeed used an automatic signature pen to sign pardons and called the automatic signature pen "legal, and other presidents have used it, including Trump." He said he personally made every pardon decision, and the "preemptive" pardons of relatives were to prevent Trump from taking retaliatory measures after taking office, "everyone knows that Trump has a strong sense of revenge."

Biden also criticized Trump as a "liar," saying that the Republicans raised the automatic signature pen issue to "divert public attention."

This article is exclusive to Observer Net, and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7577991359110447650/

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