House Oversight is pulling back the curtain on just how much executive power Biden’s staff wielded—and how much the President himself may not have known about the actions taken in his name, raising alarming questions about who was really calling the shots in the White House.
At a Glance
- The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether Biden’s staff issued pardons and executive orders with or without his full knowledge.
- The use of an autopen for signing thousands of official clemency grants has sparked legal and constitutional concerns.
- Key witnesses, including senior White House aides, have reportedly resisted testifying fully.
- The investigation expands as evidence suggests a delegated, category-based approach to executive actions rather than direct presidential review.
Congress Probes Who Really Ran the White House
The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, is digging into whether former President Joe Biden’s staff handed out thousands of pardons using an autopen without Biden’s full awareness or direct approval. For Americans who believe the buck stops with the President, the investigation raises a nightmare scenario: that the country was being run by unelected bureaucrats.
The committee’s investigation was turbocharged after Biden’s own statements about the pardons appeared to contradict the reality of the process.
He first claimed he made “every single” decision but later admitted to only approving broad “categories” of cases, leaving the details to his staff and the now-infamous autopen.
A Wall of Silence from Biden’s Inner Circle
As the committee issues subpoenas, they are being met with a wall of resistance. Key former White House aides are now at the center of the probe:
- Anthony Bernal, a senior advisor to Jill Biden, has reportedly refused to testify.
- Neera Tanden, a former staff secretary, has testified but allegedly provided minimal details about the President’s direct involvement in the autopen approvals.
- Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s former physician, was called to answer questions about the former president’s capacity but invoked the Fifth Amendment.
The resistance from Biden’s inner circle only fuels suspicion that there is something to hide. As Chairman James Comer has stated, “The American people deserve to know who was truly making decisions in the Biden White House.”
A Crisis of Presidential Authority
At the heart of this firestorm is the question of presidential capacity and the delegation of constitutional power.
WATCH: Former President Biden jokes about his mental capacity in Delaware yesterday pic.twitter.com/4jjTY3XnN1
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) May 31, 2025
The pardon power is one of the most solemn and personal authorities granted to a president. Critics argue that farming it out to staffers and executing it with a machine is a dangerous dereliction of duty.
The investigation is far from over, but the damage to the idea of direct, accountable presidential leadership is already extensive. This isn’t just about whether the use of an autopen was technically legal; it’s about whether the President was actually presiding over his own administration.
