In the closing weeks of President Biden’s term, several senior White House and Justice Department officials raised serious concerns about how clemency decisions were made—particularly through the use of an autopen to issue pardons and commutations. Internal communications reveal that key staff felt shut out of the decision-making process and that some clemency grants may not have been properly vetted or legally sound.
Notably, ethics attorney Bradley Weinsheimer resigned in protest, criticizing descriptions of several recipients as “nonviolent” that did not reflect their actual backgrounds. Staff also expressed uncertainty over whether Joe Biden personally authorized the documents signed via autopen.
Chief of Staff Jeff Zients is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating whether the autopen was misused and whether these actions align with proper legal standards. Despite the dissent, the administration asserts that Biden made all clemency decisions himself.