President Donald Trump has been itching to get back at lawmakers who investigated his actions on Jan. 6 and he's willing to tear down the concept of presidential pardons to get it done.
On Sunday night, Trump declared last-minute pardons of members of the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack issued by former President Joe Biden to be "void, vacant and of no further force of effect" in a post to Truth Social. The social media missive was part of a days-long tirade against the Biden administration's alleged use of an autopen to sign presidential orders and laws.
"The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen," Trump wrote. "In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime."
Biden pardoned former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci, former Trump administration official turned critic Gen. Mark Milley and the members of the House's Jan. 6 committee. The blanket pardon of the committee protected frequent Trump targets like Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff from retaliation.
"These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing," Biden shared in a statement at the time. "Even when individuals have done nothing wrong — and in fact have done the right thing — and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances."
Trump accused the committee members of drafting and signing the pardons without Biden's knowledge in his post to Truth Social.
"The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!" he wrote.
The White House danced around what Trump was stating plainly in his post when confronted by reporters on Monday. Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump was "begging the question" on whether Biden was "cognitively impaired," never looking directly at the fact that Trump was attempting to overturn pardons.
"Did the president [Biden] even know about these pardons? Was his legal signature used without his consent or knowledge?" Leavitt said. "I think it’s a question that everybody in this room should be looking into because certainly that would propose perhaps criminal or illegal behavior if staff members were signing the President of the United States’ autograph without his consent."
Shares