What is an autopen? Why Trump is talking about this signature machine

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President Donald Trump says that pardons made by former president Joe Biden are “void” because he allegedly did not sign them by hand. Rather than a manual signature, “they were done by autopen,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday.

Trump is referring to pardons that were made by Biden at the end of his presidency. He pardoned so-called “enemies” of Trump, including Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol as well as his own son, Hunter Biden.

The pardons, said Trump, “are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT.”

“In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden,” he said.

Trump’s accusations that Biden didn’t know about the pardons have not been substantiated.

Trump also posted a meme on Truth Social that showed photos of him during his first and second presidencies with the dates 2017-2021 and 2025-present, respectively. Between the photos of Trump, there was a spot for an image of Biden with the years 2021-2025 written below. But instead of Biden’s photo, there is a framed image of an autopen writing Biden’s signature. The meme was described as a “little trolling” in a post on X by Trump’s Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr.

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Here’s what we know.

What is an autopen?

An autopen is a handwriting machine that is used to replicate signatures and short notes, according to The Autopen Company.

It is described as a tool “for the world’s most influential leaders, allowing them to more effectively apply their time and attention to important issues without compromising the impact of personalized correspondence,” the company says on its webpage.

The machines can be used to “sign” all kinds of items, from books to athletic equipment, and of course, sheets of paper.

Has an autopen been used by a president before?

Yes, most notably, former president Barack Obama directed staff to use an autopen to sign a bill into law in 2011 while he was travelling in Europe, per the Associated Press. Congress had approved the legislation last minute, but there wasn’t enough time to get the document to France before its powers expired. That was reportedly the first time an autopen was used to sign a bill into law — but not the first time an autopen had been used in place of a president’s handwritten signature.

Going back hundreds of years, America’s third president Thomas Jefferson, who served from 1801 to 1809, used a machine that mimics the modern autopen, called the polygraph. He used the machine to “make duplicates of letters for his personal records,” according to the American Philosophical Society.

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Former president Harry Truman was reportedly the first sitting president to use an autopen regularly, per The Independent and Politico.

What are the unproven claims against Biden?

Trump’s comments come after allegations made by the Oversight Project, part of The Heritage Foundation, the Washington, D.C.-based think tank behind Project 2025. The group said in a post on X on March 6 that it gathered documents with Biden’s signature during his presidency and found that “all used the same autopen signature except for the announcement that the former President was dropping out of the race last year.”

The accusations made by the Oversight Project against Biden have not been independently verified.

Are the pardons really “void” if Biden allegedly used an autopen?

No, using an autopen does not make pardons void.

A 2005 memorandum opinion by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel said that 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.” It says that the president “may sign a bill … by directing a subordinate to affix the President’s signature to such a bill, for example by autopen.”

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The legal study was commissioned by former president George W. Bush, although per ABC News, he never used the autopen himself.

No subsequent president can revoke a pardon for any reason, The Hill and NBC News reported, according to the U.S. Constitution.

An overview of the pardon power in the Constitution “establishes the President’s authority to grant clemency, encompassing not only pardons of individuals but several other forms of relief from criminal punishment as well.”

It does not mention the use of an autopen.

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