Trump White House Rejects Biden’s Bid for Presidential Immunity in Autopen Probe

The White House under President Donald J. Trump has formally rejected former President Joe Biden’s attempt to block congressional scrutiny into the use of the autopen during his time in office, delivering a sharp rebuke to claims of executive privilege asserted after Biden left power.

According to Fox News, Biden contacted the National Archives in an effort to shield certain presidential records from disclosure, arguing that releasing them would harm the institutional interests of the presidency. The Trump administration declined that request on Tuesday, clearing the way for Congress to continue its investigation.

“I am concerned that disclosure of these materials would damage important institutional interests of the Presidency, including by impairing the ability of future Presidents to receive robust, candid advice from their close advisers,” Biden wrote in an Oct. 1 letter to the Archival Operations Division of the National Archives and Records Administration.

“For these reasons, I hereby assert executive privilege over the documents listed,” he added.

Biden further claimed that while his administration had already turned over hundreds of documents to Congress, the materials now under review involved sensitive presidential deliberations.

“I have raised no objections to multiple requests for Presidential records from my Administration, and hundreds of documents have already been provided to Congress pursuant to those requests, but the records now proposed for release include documents reflecting presidential decisionmaking and deliberations and other materials that are protected by executive privilege,” Biden wrote.

That argument was firmly rejected by White House Counsel David Warrington, who informed the National Archives that President Trump had personally determined the privilege claim should be denied.

“President Trump has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified as to any of the documents requested by the United States Congress,” Warrington wrote.

Warrington went further, outlining why the Trump administration believes transparency is constitutionally necessary in this case. He pointed to allegations surrounding the Biden White House’s use of the autopen and broader concerns about decision-making authority.

“As President Trump has stated, the abuse of the autopen that took place during the Biden Presidency, and the extraordinary efforts to shield President Biden’s diminished faculties from the public, must be subject to a full accounting to ensure nothing similar ever happens again,” Warrington wrote.

He also cited what the administration describes as serious civil liberties violations.

“Similarly, President Biden’s repeated abuses of the rights of American citizens during the pandemic and his politically motivated efforts to investigate Members of Congress must also be subject to a full accounting to ensure nothing similar ever happens again,” Warrington continued.

“Congress has a compelling need in service of its legislative functions to understand the circumstances that led to all these horrific events,” the letter said.

Warrington emphasized that the matter goes beyond routine oversight, framing it as a constitutional issue involving separation of powers and democratic accountability.

“These are unique and extraordinary circumstances. Congress is examining an assault on the President’s constitutional duties, the civil liberties the Constitution provides all Americans, and the democratic institution of Congress itself,” the letter stated.

“The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield, from Congress or the public, information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself,” he wrote.

Adding to the controversy, Warrington noted discrepancies between Biden’s signature on the immunity request and signatures used on pardons issued for his son, Hunter Biden, and other family members—an issue that has drawn renewed attention as lawmakers intensify their inquiries.

Congressional committees are now actively investigating the Biden White House’s reliance on the autopen, while President Trump has stated that documents signed using the device should be considered invalid, underscoring his administration’s commitment to restoring constitutional accountability and executive transparency.