Biden's autopen use questioned amid released audio from Special Counsel Hur interview
GOP House Oversight Committee Chairman and other Republicans are raising concerns about former President Joe Biden's cognitive functions were well enough to authorize aides to use an autopen tool to sign important documents on his behalf.
On Friday evening, Axios released exclusive audio footage of Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, which reveals clues about Biden's cognitive functioning while president that the interview's transcript did not elucidate. Biden can be heard slurring his words, muttering and taking long pauses. Meanwhile, Biden also failed to recall the date of his son Beau's death or the year Trump was first elected.
"It questions who was actually making the decisions," Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said Friday night on Fox News Channel's "Hannity."
"Clearly, from that interview, which was many, many months prior to the heavy use of the autopen, Joe Biden wasn't capable of making decisions. He wasn't coherent."
BIDEN STRUGGLES WITH WORDS, KEY MEMORIES IN LEAKED AUDIO FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW
Earlier Friday, Comer announced a new investigation trying to uncover who gave the orders to use the autopen. According to Comer, among other important things, the autopen tool was used to grant presidential pardons to Biden's family members.
"It does call into question these pardons – the use of autopen, and I think it may actually open the door – I'm not a lawyer – but I'd imagine Trump or his administration may try to make some arguments to federal courts about actions Joe Biden took because now we've got more information coming out, and they're reasonably going to determine, ‘Yeah Joe Biden couldn’t remember anything. He didn't even know when his son died, or when Trump got elected or when he left office," political commentator Tim Pool added.
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"Who was controlling the autopen? Who was pulling the strings? Who were the unelected bureaucrats making decisions that negatively impacted our country?" asked former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advisor Link Lauren. "I want names."
Donald Trump has said he does not use autopen to sign legally binding documents like pardons. In March, a White House official confirmed it was the administration's policy to use Trump's hand signature on any legally binding documents.