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.
Read On The Fox News App
"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.
'Terrifying': Biden-hur Audio Showcases Former President's Decline
"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.Original article source: Biden's autopen use questioned amid released audio from Special Counsel Hur interview
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Wall Street Journal
22 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Why Would Musk Pick This Fight with Trump?
They were powerful together. But now the clash between the president and the world's richest man threatens to tear their ambitions apart—if they can't find a way to detente.

USA Today
23 minutes ago
- USA Today
President Trump set to attend UFC 316 in New Jersey this weekend
President Trump set to attend UFC 316 in New Jersey this weekend Show Caption Hide Caption Donald Trump attends UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden President-elect Donald Trump walked into Madison Square Garden alongside UFC CEO Dana White, Elon Musk and Kid Rock for UFC 309. As his feud with tech billionaire and former MAGA darling Elon Musk exploded into public view this week, the White House says President Donald Trump is planning to attend a UFC event in New Jersey this weekend. The event, UFC 316, is slated for Saturday, June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The president is scheduled to depart the White House for his golf club in New Jersey Friday afternoon, according to his official schedule, and return to the White House Sunday night. Musk has been high-profile guest for some of Trump's previous visits to the octagon, but the pair had a public falling-out this week after Musk's departure from the Trump administration. 'Siri, play Bad Blood': Internet reacts to Elon Musk and Trump 'breakup' The Trump-Musk fight took off this week when Musk called for Republicans to kill the House-passed tax bill that is a signature part of the second-term president's legislative agenda, calling it a 'disgusting abomination.' Two days later, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on June 5 that he was 'very disappointed' with Musk and suggested their 'great relationship' was over. In response, Musk took to social media shortly afterward to blast the president, saying Trump wouldn't have won a second term and Republicans would have fared worse in elections in both chambers of the U.S. Congress were it not for his efforts on the 2024 campaign trail, where he poured a quarter of a million dollars into Trump's campaign. The tussle escalated in a back-and-forth between the two men, with Trump suggested going after Musk's companies and their federal contracts, and Musk alleging that Trump's name was in the Justice Department's files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The pair's most recent fight appearance was in April, when Trump and Musk sat ringside at UFC 314 in Miami. The president has long attended UFC events, as CEO Dana White was a prominent supporter of Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign. When is UFC 316? UFC 316, which is headlined by Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili, is set to take place at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The main card is available for pay-per-view on ESPN. More: Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili 2 predictions; full card, odds, picks for UFC 316 Contributing: Riley Beggin, Sudiksha Kochi and Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.


Washington Post
23 minutes ago
- Washington Post
As World Pride flows straight into the military parade, DC officials say they're ready for anything
WASHINGTON — Officials in the nation's capital generally express full confidence in their ability to handle large, complicated events and huge crowds. As Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith recently put it, 'We are really the experts in this space when it comes to crowd management.' Over the next eight days. in the sprawling city that is the nation's capital, that expertise will be put to the test.