House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer says his probe into Joe Biden’s mental fitness during his presidency could pave the way to overturning pardons and executive actions issued in his final months in office — raising unprecedented legal and constitutional questions.

In an interview with Just the News, No Noise, the Kentucky Republican said mounting evidence suggests Biden may not have understood what he was authorizing — and, in some cases, may not have signed the documents at all.

Central to Comer’s concerns is Biden’s frequent use of the presidential autopen, a mechanical device that reproduces a president’s signature. While traditionally used for ceremonial correspondence or minor paperwork, Comer says the device was deployed for significant legal actions during Biden’s final months, especially after his disastrous June 2024 debate performance.

“It’s questionable whether or not it’s legal to use an autopen on a legal document, but what’s not questionable is if the President of the United States had no idea what was being signed,” Comer said. “Then… that’s not legal.”

According to Comer, the investigation could supply the basis for challenging certain pardons and executive orders. “Our investigation… could be used as evidence in trying to overturn some of those pardons and some of the executive orders, because the autopen was used so frequently… after that debate,” he explained.

Legal experts agree such disputes would likely land in court. Former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz told Just the News in March that for bills passed by Congress, the Constitution explicitly requires the president’s signature — potentially making autopen usage problematic. While pardons don’t require a signature under the Constitution, Dershowitz said they could still face legal scrutiny if Biden didn’t personally approve them.

The June 2024 debate became a watershed moment for Biden’s presidency. Onstage, he appeared confused, lost his train of thought, and struggled to answer basic questions — prompting panic even among Democratic operatives. Just weeks later, Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Kamala Harris.

Republicans had long warned about Biden’s decline — pointing to his reliance on teleprompters, fumbling speech, and frequent memory lapses. Those concerns were bolstered in February 2025 when Special Counsel Robert Hur, investigating Biden’s classified documents scandal, concluded Biden’s “poor memory” would make him a sympathetic witness, noting he could not recall key facts, including the year his son Beau died.

Comer’s committee has focused on who was actually making decisions in the Biden White House during that period. Former Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden testified she often directed autopen use but rarely interacted with Biden. Instead, she sent memos to senior aides for approval, receiving them back already signed — without knowing who authorized them.

“She had minimal interaction with President Biden despite wielding tremendous authority,” Comer said. “Her testimony raises serious questions about who was really calling the shots in the Biden White House amid the president’s obvious decline.”

Key Biden aides — including White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, former Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, and Jill Biden’s chief of staff Anthony Bernal — have refused to answer the committee’s questions, invoking their Fifth Amendment rights. Comer noted that O’Connor wouldn’t even answer whether he had ever been told to lie about the president’s health.

Biden has maintained that he personally approved all clemency decisions, telling The New York Times he “made every decision” on pardons. But the Times also reported that for large-scale pardons, Biden and his aides admitted he did not personally review each name.

Comer argues that sworn testimony, Fifth Amendment pleadings, and Biden’s own admissions point to a disturbing reality: “These Biden inner circle people haven’t been able to prove that Joe Biden knew what was being signed with his autopen,” he said. “About half the people we brought in have pled the Fifth. When the White House physician can’t answer a simple question about whether he was told to lie, that’s pretty damning evidence that we had a president who wasn’t at the top of his game, to say the least.”

With Comer signaling that legal challenges are coming, the political and constitutional fallout from Biden’s final months in office could be only beginning.