The White House has expressed support for a Justice Department investigation into former President Joe Biden’s use of clemency powers, following allegations that many pardons and commutations were signed using an autopen.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized the significance of the inquiry, which was announced by President Donald Trump’s pardon attorney, Ed Martin, stating that “the American people deserve answers.”
“The president is making a good point when he discusses the usage of the autopen,” Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday, the Washington Examiner reported. “Who was running the country for the past four years?”
Leavitt pushed back against criticism that the investigation was backward-looking, pointing instead to what Trump is highlighting as key achievements of his administration, including progress on border security and the economy.
“It’s still, nevertheless, is a very important issue, and it was a huge issue that sent the president back to this White House,” she said. “Americans saw with their own eyes a mentally incompetent president, and they want answers for that, and the president believes they should have them.”
Martin, whom President Trump had nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia before Senate Republicans withdrew support last month due to his past defense of January 6 defendants, told Justice Department staff on Monday that he has been instructed to investigate clemency actions taken by former President Joe Biden.