Ed Martin, the incoming pardon attorney at the Department of Justice and head of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, has initiated an investigation into the use of the presidential autopen for issuing pardons during the final days of the Biden administration.
Martin disclosed that his probe began weeks earlier, while he was still serving as the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and that he has contacted members of the Biden family. A whistleblower has come forward with serious allegations, stating that three individuals controlled access to the pardon process and were profiting from it. The individuals identified as key “gatekeepers” include Ron Klain, former White House chief of staff; Anita Dunn, former senior Biden adviser; Robert Bauer, former personal attorney to President Barack Obama; Steve Ricchetti, former counselor to President Biden and chairman of his 2020 campaign; and First Lady Jill Biden.
In addition to the investigation into pardons, a pro-energy group called Power the Future is urging the Trump administration to investigate whether former President Biden used an autopen to sign executive orders related to climate policy. The group claims that several significant executive orders were signed by autopen without public comment from President Biden, raising concerns about the legitimacy of these actions. These orders include a ban on new drilling on 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters and a commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050. Power the Future has sent letters to the DOJ, EPA, DOI, DOE, and congressional oversight committees requesting an investigation into who made the decisions, drafted the executive orders, and signed them.
President Biden has taken bold executive action to spur domestic clean energy manufacturing, including authorizing the use of the Defense Production Act to accelerate domestic production of clean energy technologies and directing the development of master supply agreements to support domestic solar manufacturing capacity. These actions aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create clean energy jobs.
The investigation into the use of the presidential autopen raises questions about the legitimacy of executive actions taken during the final days of the Biden administration. As the Trump administration moves forward with its own energy policies, it remains to be seen how these investigations will impact the broader debate over climate policy and executive authority.
