White House Emails Confirm Biden Was in the Dark on Pardons — “He Doesn’t Review the Warrants”
Fresh revelations confirm what many Americans suspected: Joe Biden, during his final days in office, had little to no awareness of the pardons and commutations issued under his name. Internal White House emails obtained by the New York Post show a chaotic, staff-driven process in which Biden’s role was limited to a mere figurehead — with aides relying on the autopen to affix his “signature” to mass clemency documents.
According to the Pew Research Center, Biden granted thousands of pardons and commutations in the waning months of his presidency. But emails between White House lawyers and staff show the then-president was not directly reviewing the warrants or ensuring the integrity of the process.
Emails Expose Biden’s Absence
On January 11, Biden allegedly gave a verbal “yes” to the commutations of certain inmates serving sentences for crack cocaine. Yet his official signature did not appear on the documents until nearly a week later, on January 17. The timeline raises questions about whether Biden himself was actually making these decisions at all.
An internal exchange on the evening of January 16 underscores the dysfunction. Former White House Staff Secretary Stef Feldman told colleagues she needed proof Biden had given the go-ahead before using the autopen.
“I’m going to need email from [Deputy Assistant to the President] Rosa [Po] on original chain confirming P[resident] signs off on the specific documents when they are ready,” Feldman wrote at 9:16 p.m.
Minutes later, then–Deputy White House Counsel Tyeesha Dixon forwarded Feldman’s email to Michael Posada, former chief of staff to the White House Counsel’s Office, asking: “Michael, thoughts on how to handle this?” before bluntly admitting, “He doesn’t review the warrants.”
No Presidential Oversight
By 10:06 p.m., Posada responded:
“Ok talked to Stef. We will just need something from Rosa once the documents are ready confirming that the 21 people commuted to home confinement are who the president signed off on… Basically, something from Rosa making clear that the documents accurately reflect his decision.”
Only hours later, at 4:59 a.m., mass clemency was publicly announced.
The Post reported that Rosa Po had earlier indicated Biden “intended” to grant clemency to certain inmates deemed low-risk by the Department of Justice. Yet the emails suggest staff relied on her interpretation of Biden’s wishes rather than clear, documented approval from Biden himself.
Questions of Legitimacy
The internal communications leave little evidence that Biden personally reviewed warrants, read names, or applied his signature. Instead, aides acted on what they believed he “intended” to do — with the autopen doing the rest.
Republicans are now demanding answers. House Oversight Chairman James Comer blasted the revelations, calling the autopen scandal “one of the greatest scandals of our generation.”
“The American people deserve to know who was actually calling the shots in the Biden White House, because it wasn’t Joe Biden. His mental decline was obvious to anyone paying attention,” Comer said in May.
With growing doubts over Biden’s awareness and control during his presidency, the controversy surrounding his last-minute clemency spree is only deepening.